digest
Welcome to the start of the 12-week program. This video covers weeks 1 through 3, which follow a 4-day split: chest and triceps, back and biceps, legs and calves, and shoulders and traps. That is what you will see throughout the duration of this video.
The rest times are within 30 to 90 seconds, depending on the exercise. When we are doing a big compound movement like squats, bent-over rows, or deadlifts, we usually take a little longer to rest, around 90 seconds, so that the next set we can hit just as hard as the first. Some of the isolation exercises, whether flies, curls, or extensions, usually take a shorter rest time for two reasons: the lift does not take as long, and since you are not involving a whole lot of muscle, it does not need a lot of recovery time. We try to keep the heart rate up by lowering the rest times on more of the isolation exercises. Typically isolation exercises get 30 to 60 seconds, and in extreme examples 60 to 90 seconds if we are really feeling winded. In most examples, like Brandon said, we rest just as the other guys are doing the exercise, and then you keep switching out. It usually takes about 30 seconds to get started, so let's do it.
We did not realize our first day in the gym landed on a holiday. It is Martin Luther King Day here in the States, so the gym was packed. We actually had to do a few alternate exercises, as you will notice: we are doing dumbbell incline bench as opposed to barbell, and now the Hammer Strength bench as opposed to the traditional flat bench. The exercises are still the same, we are just switching it up a little because the gym was so full.
In this first phase of the program, the prep phase of weeks 1 through 3, we focus on a little higher reps on the deadlifts. One reason is to really get the form down and build the confidence that when you go really heavy you are doing it right. The second reason is to work on the endurance muscles, so that your grip, your shoulder blades, and everything else stays in the proper place and you keep proper form throughout the lift. When doing high repetitions, you are teaching the muscle how to keep up with the bigger muscles, building endurance within the smaller muscle groups and within the bigger muscle groups as well. As the program continues and the deadlift weight increases, you are more confident in the lift because of how many repetitions you did in the beginning phase, and your muscles are prepared when you go really heavy because everything stays in place and you keep that proper form.
Someone mentioned I should be sent to the forge for getting out of shape. Well, walking lunges may not be the same as going to a hell forge, but sometimes it feels like it. Hey, I just want to do a quick shout-out to Lisa Marshall from St Albans, England. Just want to say hi and stay motivated, because soon enough you are going to be buff. Have a good workout, and hopefully you are following that 12-week plan along with us.
Overhead press is one of our favorite exercises for shoulders, a major compound movement hitting all three heads of the deltoids, and it really kills those shoulders. One thing to always remember is to lock your knees out so you get no bounce, and also get a nice lockout at the top, squeezing the traps. That sets them in the top position, stabilizes them, and gives you a little extra squeeze at the top.
Next are upright rows, another of our favorite compound exercises that really kills the delts. We take a wider grip on this specific exercise. A lot of people like to do narrow grip, but a wide grip works a little more of the traps and front delt, and hits more of the lateral head, with a little of the traps as well. When you come up, do not come past parallel to the floor. Come up to about lower chest, so your upper arms are about parallel to the floor. This gets more activation in the shoulders and relieves some of the pressure on the shoulder joint that can build if you go too high.
Another favorite for the delts is the dumbbell lateral raise. Concentrate on lifting with your elbows, not your hands. You do not want to just be lifting with your hands. You want to lead with your elbow, and you do not want your hand to rise above your elbow either. It is all about the elbows.
Face pulls are a great exercise for building the rear delts and traps, the upper back thickness. The different hand grips can be thumbs facing back holding the handle, or you rotate your thumbs forward holding the rope. You do not have to use the rope, you can use a straight bar as well. Get a nice wide grip and pull directly to eye line, getting that nice squeeze in the traps all the way back. The elbows can flare out and drop somewhat, so your hands can be a little higher, to get the maximum squeeze in the scapula, or shoulder blades. Once you complete all that, you should really feel the burn.
Visualization is really important, and we use it often. For instance, on barbell shrugs, what we like to visualize is touching your ears with your shoulders. As you bring it up, bring it as high as you can and picture it going right up past your head. Bring it up as high as you can, then bring it straight back down, no rotation, just up and down, touching that midway point.
All right dudes and girls, we are done with the first week of the prep phase. We have two more weeks of this, and then we are moving on. We feel pretty good about this prep phase right now, because if we had jumped right in we would have been over our heads. To tell you the truth, this kicked our asses, but we are getting into the routine, which is good, and we hope you are too. That is what it is all about: getting into a routine. We have two more weeks. The first week is done, the body is feeling sore but really good, feeling pumped, and the muscles already look a little denser and harder, which is exactly what we want. With proper nutrition and good sleep, it shows how the body adapts to certain exercises and loads you put on it for your benefit. As it progresses, it will get better and better, but also harder. Work up to this, and if you have to take an extra week on this phase, definitely do that to prepare your body, because it is going to get more difficult, five days a week, six days a week, and so on. As long as you stick with it, you will start seeing the transformation and those changes, which is exactly what we want to see in the progress pictures. If you have not done progress pictures, do it. You really want to see the change from week one to week 12, because there will be a huge change, and you can use that as motivation. If you hit a plateau around week six or week eight, you can look back at that first week and see the huge changes you have made.
We have also been reading the comments and seeing questions about what to do if you do not want to put a lot of weight on, or are not used to some of these exercises. That is totally cool. Just work on your form, especially during these first three weeks. If you have not done deadlifts before, or have not really done squats, watch the videos where we describe how to do them in detail. Do not worry about the heavy weights. Worry about being comfortable, because that is what it is all about. You want to be comfortable and confident, you want to learn how to do it right, and then you keep doing it right, so you do not have to correct anything down the line.
It is not only about prepping the body, it is also prepping the mind: getting the confidence to lift certain exercises, especially the major compound exercises that take a lot of form and technique. Getting confident with those brings confidence through any kind of lifting program you do in the future. Once your body is prepped, your mind is getting prepped too, and the mind is even more important than the body, because it really controls the body throughout this whole process. So focus on the mind as well, getting the confidence, the education, the willpower, and the motivation to keep going.
All right, we are all wrapped up. In the next video we are going to focus on the food we have been eating through weeks 1 through 3. We will see you again at the start of phase two, which is weeks 4 through 6. All right, take it easy, dudes.