Mentoring and Fitness Training with Saswat

 This post is meant to describe free weight bodybuilding exercises. Especially those done with dumbbells or barbells. However, maybe in theory, it can be used to describe other exercises as well.  The 4 levels are Starter, Novice, Intermediate and Advanced, and within each of these there are sublevels as well. The highest sublevel of one class is the same as the lowest of the next class.  Starter : The defining trait of the starter class is that they do not yet have the skill to do the exercise with good form in a way that is optimally conducive to hypertrophy and strength gain. Depending on the level, their form is either never good from the start, or breaks down when they start to feel fatigue.  sublevel 1: A level one starter is unable to do the exercise with form that is safe to use with heavier weights even when there is virtually no load.  sublevel 2: Level two starters are able to do the exercise proper form under light load, however, their form breaks do...

I will divide these exercises into 5 base categories. Squat, push, pull, hinge and crunch. That doesn't mean you always need to be trying to improve at all 5 at the same time. In fact that is counter productive. but this is a useful list.  Some exercises, such as tuck jumps and burpees, are combo exercises, these are excluded from this list. Remember, if you are not tracking your exercises, you are not training seriously. Don't swap exercises too fast, give each at least 2 months before swapping.  Squat: bodyweight squat goblet squat back squat low bar back squat front squat safety bar squat landmine squat Hindu squat Bulgarian Split Squat Side Split Squat hinge: Conventional Deadlift Sumo deadlift running sprints hip thrust glute raises hack squats back hyperextension good morning reverse hyperextension Pull: pull-ups chin-up neutral pull-ups wide grip pull-up narrow grip all combinations of above bench dumbell rows Kroc rows t bar rows splayed dumbell rows face pulls shrugs ...

H ypertrophy, muscle growth, is the adaptation of your muscles to be capable of handling heavier weights for higher reps and greater range of motion over about a 2 week period. Note, that I said that hypertrophy is meant to make you CAPABLE of more mechanical work. It usually, but not always, requires you to do more work to adapt to.  With this definition, one can figure that increasing loads, increasing reps, greater range of motion, greater frequency of exercise, and less rest in between exercises, can all help drive hypertrophy.  However, there is one more key to hypertrophy, that may not be as obvious, and that is novelty.  See my previous post about exercise levels. It makes it clear that the more advanced you are at an exercise, the more diminished its returns. When it comes to hypertrophy, it is well known that the most hypertrophy is gained in the novice phase of an exercise, as the vast majority of strength gained in the starter phase is from neural adaptations t...