The Most Optimal Program!

You wake up in the a.m., get dressed, take your pre-workout, drive to the gym, and then... Well now what? What is a gym-goer without a program? Without the proper instruction and itinerary, they simple trot adrift from exercise to exercise. Gains are lost to this person. Are you this lifter? ----- Joking. Some simple gym humor.

In all seriousness their truly is no optimal program. They most certainly won't make or break your lifting career, but can definitely attribute to your progress. I've seen many lifters train instinctively and by feel, and make notable progress. Some reach the level in which they make their own optimal program.

What (good) programs essentially provide a lifter is a template or guideline in which one could follow for linear progression. They enable you to track your progress from the start and consistently add more weight/repetitions in order to build upon. The way in which a program will do this is sequentially loading more intensity over time in order for your body to adapt. Programs may or may not provide specific exercises, but this feature is usually customizable by the lifter.

As previously said this clearly isn't necessary for anyone to achieve their goals, but it does provide many with focus, a schedule, and clear cut goals. It will pretty much require the average gym goer to stop dicking around with the weights and do the work assigned for the day.

The best tip I can give to anyone on a program who intends to see optimal gains from it, is to FOLLOW THE PROGRAM. Too many people feel they can outsmart a program or take it upon themselves to further customize the mandatory protocols. It was built that way for a reason. Leave it alone, and follow it for an extended amount of time to judge if it is truly working for you.


Some great lifting programs include:

Upper/Lower Power/Hypertrophy - My current split :)

Legs/Push/Pull

Stronglifts 5x5 - built in with linear progression

Jim Wendler's 531 - built in with linear progression

Thank me for the links later ;)

Remember the best training split is the one that YOU enjoy to do!