Introduction

• I am in good shape, I am 6 foot 4ins tall and weigh 85kgs (13st 4lbs), but I’m not a professional athlete or a fitness instructor, I’m a full time Technology Consultant who also has this blog to maintain alongside spending time with friends, family and relaxing.
• I try to go to the gym 3 times a week, to date this year I have been 2.3 times a week – tracked using  CoachMe App – so I’m close to my goal but not hitting it regularly enough.
• This is not a breakdown of individual’s sessions you should be completing, it’s a list of the best exercises I think there are for each of the main muscle groups.
• I have classed the ‘main muscle  groups’ as follows:

• Chest
• Legs
• Biceps
• Triceps
• Back
• Shoulders
• Core (Abs)

• My primary focus when going to the gym is to improve my swimmer physique – lean muscle growth, 6-9% body fat – and also get those important endorphins pumping.
• The exercises detailed below aren’t just suitable for people like me. They can be used no matter what your goal is by varying the weight lifted and the number of reps, which I’ll cover in detail later on.
• For the rest of this blog I want to focus on the following: (1) My key ‘rules’ for going to the gym and what I do when I go (2) To explain the exercises I think are best for each muscle group.
• I won’t be showing you how best to do each exercise, but there are a number of sources that can.  My favourite is the ‘Fully Fitness: Exercise Workout Program’ App, which is just £2.99 from the Apple App Store. It includes images, videos and graphics for a wide variety of different gym exercises, including the below.

My Gym Rules

• The main muscle groups I train are above, but now I’m going to add the key things I look to do or incorporate into my gym routine to help me stay on track and see the results I’m looking for.
• Keep things fresh – I tend to make amendments to my gym routine every 1-2 months, it keeps things fresh and stops going to the gym becoming too boring or monotonous. This is equally as important for your muscles, as it stops them getting used to certain activities, which can cause a slow down in results.
• Do the basics well – I believe in doing the basics well, too many people try to re-invent the wheel when it comes to their exercise routines. It’s the things that have been around the longest, that have stood the test of time which are the things to focus on, not whatever the latest fad is due to good advertising and dodgy science.
• Focus on Form not Weight – We’ve all seen the idiot in the gym who struts up to the bench press adds 100kg and then  proceeds to do 4 half reps, only bringing the bar a third of the way down to their chest before extending. Not only does this individual look like an idiot, they won’t see any increase in strength, size or definition. Always focus on your form first and the weight second. Once you’ve got the correct form you’ll find adding weight easier – but don’t add too fast. You’ll achieve much more doing 4 sets of 10 reps at the correct weight rather than 3 sets of 6 with poor form on a higher weight.
• The Holy Trinity – I am a firm believer in the ‘Holy Trinity’: the barbell back squat, the deadlift and the bench press. If you only do these three exercises, do them well and do them regularly, you will see a significant difference in your body and your strength.
• Food – The gym is only one part of the puzzle when looking to loose weight or gain muscle, the kitchen also plays a very important role. You need to eat healthily, taking in the correct amount as well as getting good quality nutrients. If you are looking to gain muscle mass the chances are you’ll need to increase your protein intake above what you get from your diet. The general rule of thumb is to consume 1.5g – 2g protein per kg of bodyweight, for an active individual.
• Now I’ve shared my golden five rules, I’m going to highlight the exercises I enjoy for each muscle group.

Chest

• Bench Press – Forms one tripod of the ‘Holy Trinity’ and if you asked someone to name a non-cardiovascular activity to do in the gym it’ll probably be top of the list. Done well and correctly it can make a massive difference. I’ll use dumbbells or a barbell for the bench press, whichever is free, although dumbbells are usually better for giving your core a good work out as well.
• Incline Bench Press – Very similar to the traditional bench press but with the bench at an incline. Doing this means you work the top section of your chest and also some of your shoulder muscles.
• Decline Bench Press – As above but with a decline bench. Having the bench at a decline means you work the bottom half of your chest, helping you form those ‘bouncing pecks’.
• Normal & Wide Hand Press-ups – Often mocked by ‘hardware’ gym goers but press-ups are great, especially when you are changing the position of your hands. The closer your hands are together the more you are working your triceps, the further apart the more you work your chest. I tend you use press ups between doing sets of each of the three types of bench press as this helps to work the muscles hard.
• Cable Flys – These provide a similar outcome to the decline bench press, working the lower half of your chest – the two can easily be interchanged.
• Dumbbell Flys – An excellent exercise to complete at the end of a chest session, it really works the fibres of your chest. You want to complete this exercise in a very controlled way, going as far as feels comfortable and then slowly pushing the weight back up. Get ready for the shakes!

Legs

• Back Squats – A fundamental part of the ‘Holy Trinity’. Not enough can be said about the effectiveness of back squats, while they’re under the muscle group of legs for obvious reasons, they really are an all body exercise. This is also the most important exercise people know about but aren’t doing. Stretching both before AND AFTER squatting is important as it’ll help you be able to walk the next day. However don’t be overly concerned if your legs are killing the next day or even the day after that, especially if squatting is new for you or you haven’t squatted in a long time, it’s all part of the fun.  Squatting is an example of when free weight is best if you want to target your core as well.
• Front Squats – Very similar to the above but with a bar position change. Having the bar sat across your shoulders puts more emphasis on the quads and increases the knee flexion. The back squats – as you might guess – place more emphasis on the glutes & hamstrings.
• Calf Raisers – Just like Arnold Schwarzenegger, don’t forget the calves. I tend to increase the number of reps I do of these. I don’t have any preference between machine weights and free weights for calf raisers, whichever feels most comfortable or whichever is available in the gym at the time.
• Weighted Lunges – Excellent for working your gluts and an excellent partner alongside the squat. The key with weighted lunges is good form, try to get the knee you’re bending to get as close to the floor as possible without touching, but in a controlled way. These are excellent for working your core as well.
• Conventional Dead Lift – The final member of the ‘Holy Trinity’. I use the dead lift predominately for leg workout, but a slight change in posture can shift the balance between a leg workout and a back workout. Ensure you are controlled both in lifting the bar and in returning the bar after each rep.

Biceps

• Seated Bicep Curls (dumb bells) – An extremely common exercise, but also probably the most comment exercise done incorrectly. Make sure that your back is against the bench,  curl slowly and return to the start position slowly. With the bicep curl you want to have the front of your elbow facing forward.
• Seat Hammer Curl – Similar exercise to the bicep curl and the same rules apply: keep good and slow form and don’t start too heavy with the weight. With the hammer curl you turn your wrist and elbow 90 degrees, so the front of your elbow is facing towards your body.
• Close Grip Bicep Curls (barbell) – I enjoy doing this exercise standing up with a curl barbell. The key here is to have your legs shoulder width apart and focus on your biceps doing the work, don’t bend your waist or back.
• Wide Grip Bicep Curls (barbell) – Very similar to the close grip bicep curl, the main difference is exactly where the focus of the exercise is on the bicep. The wide grip places more emphasis on the short head of the biceps, while the close grip or narrow grip bicep curls focus on the long head of the biceps
• I don’t do a large number of bicep specific exercises as I find a lot of other exercises end up having a significant bicep component to them, especially lat pull down and low row. You don’t want to end up over working any single muscle group because over-working gives the same poor results as under working.

Triceps

• Tricep Pull Downs – Excellent exercise for feeling the burn on the triceps. To maximum the workout make sure you extend your triceps fully at the end of each rep, pulling them as far apart as possible.
• Close hand press-up – I use close hand press-ups for triceps the same way I use normal and wide-grips press-ups for chest, I.e.  complete a set between sets of the other triceps activities, this helps ensure you are maximising how hard you are working the muscle.
• Tricep dips – One of the ultimate body weight exercises. If you are not strong enough to dip your entire body then don’t worry, in many gyms there is a weighted ‘seat’ for you to rest your knees on and help you complete the move and the rep requirement. Make sure you drop so your shoulders are below your elbow, if they don’t that doesn’t count as a rep.
• Over-head Tricep Press – This exercise can be completed standing up, sitting down or lying on a bench. Personally I prefer lying down as I feel it helps isolate the triceps. To bring your core into the mix, lift your legs off the floor when you put the dumb bell or barbell behind your head.
• Work your triceps in the same session as your chest, as many chest exercises also involve the triceps.

Back

• Low Row – Hard work but very effective. Helps ensure you are engaging and working your lower back as well as your lats. Again, if using a machine then you can often change the grip to help isolate different back muscles.
• Lat Pull Down – Very important exercise for those looking for the V-shape of a swimmer. Make sure it is your lats (full name Latissimi dorsi) doing the work and not your biceps.
• Bent over row – Similar exercise to the low row but usually done with free-weights. The key is control, don’t just drop the dumbbell after you’ve brought it up to your chest, it’s all about controlled movement
• Reverse chest pulls – Same machine you use for chest fly exercise but this time you are facing the machine. It works the centre of your back well and also helps with smaller shoulder muscles.
• Romanian Dead Lift –  I purposefully added two different types of dead lift because I wanted to highlight just how important it is. A slight change in technical and movement can shift the target muscle. Be careful with the Romanian dead lift,  make sure that your back remains straight and all the bending is coming from your torso. Start will a light weight and only once confident in your form increase the weight.

Shoulders

• Shoulder Press – Traditional yet effective. I don’t really think that dumbbells are better than a machine or vice versa, only that with a machine it’s easier to switch between different grips. Ensure the weight isn’t too heavy, your back should remain flat against the bench.
• Front & Side Lateral Raises – The key with both front and side lateral raises is not to go too heavy, a number of important tendons are involved in the motion, so you should use a lower weight and higher reps. I tend to do these as part of a super-set, 2 sets of each.
• Shrugs – I change my mind with shrugs fairly often. Sometimes I think they are effective and usually part of my routine, other times I feel they shred my hands with no real effect. The jury is still out on this one.
• Upright Barbell Row – Simple shoulder exercise but one that can provide impressive gains. You can also use a straight bar attached to a pulley machine if a barbell isn’t available.

Core

• I have long been a believer that the most fundamental part of your core workout is as part of your leg workout, so make sure you have squats and deadlifts in your routine. Traditional crunches are not very good and providing the cheese grater six pack everyone is looking for. However, I find that the below help supplement your leg workout and help grow that washboard stomach
• Ab Cycles – Excellent overall core exercise. The key things are not to let your legs touch the ground, fully extend between each cycle and twist your upper body as you reach the middle point. I tend to do 3 sets of 16-20reps.
• Leg Push Downs – Can be completed by yourself or with a partner. I think you benefit from having someone throw down your ankles, but it isn’t an absolute necessity.  The key is to extend fully and ensure you go out to each side not just down the middle.
• Side Dips – I struggled for a while with a little bit of fat in my ‘love handle’ region that I couldn’t shift, side dips soon sorted that out. I like to start in a side plank and only after about 30 seconds start a set of 12 dips.
• Medicine Ball Twists – Again these are good at working the sides of your core and also across the middle. The key with this is not to use a medicine ball which is too heavy but also that you are extending as far as possible with the twists to maximise the workout on your side abdominal muscles.
• Superman Blank – Traditional plank is very well known and common, but I like the superman plank, it allows me to work the core harder and faster.

Cardio

• My current focus isn’t on cardio vascular fitness. I find it hard to do long periods of cardio in the gym unless I’m playing a sport or I have a big goal coming up (half marathon, triathlon etc) however I do always do a cardio warm up. I always jog the 1.2km from my house to the gym and then do one of three things: 1km Ergo, 2km run, 10min cycle.
• If I am in the mood or feeling like a hard core weights sessions isn’t on the cards I’ll usually do one of the following as well: 2.5km Ergo, 5km Run or 20min Cycle.

Conclusion

• I’ve provided the above information as a blue print for you to build your own exercise plan. For almost all the exercises I’ve gone through I work within a rep range of 8-12 per set and aim for at least 3 sets per exercise, I’ve made notes by any exceptions.
• Two final things I hope everyone will take away: (1) It’s all about form not weight, start light and build up to the heavy weights. If you don’t, not only will you not see the right results, you’ll also more than likely end up injured. (2) Remember to mix up your routine and don’t be afraid to introduce new and different exercises, the longer a exercise has been around the more likely it is to work and always try to have room for the ‘Holy Trinity’ in your routine.

Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/uprating/11141015143/in/photolist-hYuBDZ-bqATSi-7LwYyv-cQRDi7-9b5oB8-exZBS6-eD4qGb-eH4h38-etZiaq-ejX1LV-e4yYY8-8MfBV9-eTRyPW-eTEdW2-6iUHWd-nmTvif-7fgDYy-eTE2Gr-bkdS9i-hL8CFU-qHbKoq-m6vD7k-cfBqem-hYtGtH-cfBJe3-7ftfes-6WRQCm-6GoEGV-p7XRpy-4AnFnR-cLWncd-4qc1wx-dkswVU-bULHfT-8dZYZA-dksuqt-5P2nn3-DouoZp-9YAKbE-7mKzKy-fcvMob-7LAXSW-eQnxPV-bqAS9F-52tA94-7LAXjm-BhxiS-B9x6ai-eT5yak-c2K6Xu