Mike Israetel

Those kinds of folks generally tend to go to muscular failure for just that spirit energy. It feels right, damn it. And it feels good. And it's purifying almost at an existential level to be able to have given something your all. in the face of challenge, in the face of injury risk, in the face of grotesque pain. And you know this from sport experience.

When you're really, really tired, your whole existence is screaming at you to stop. Ignoring those things and going all the way until you know you've pushed it as far as your body can go, there's something very magical there for the soul. For results in the gym, there's not much magical there. You have to get close to it. You just don't have to go all the way.

When you're really, really tired, your whole existence is screaming at you to stop. Ignoring those things and going all the way until you know you've pushed it as far as your body can go, there's something very magical there for the soul. For results in the gym, there's not much magical there. You have to get close to it. You just don't have to go all the way.

I have a whole pack bounce to make you more intimidated.

I have a whole pack bounce to make you more intimidated.

So I'll describe to you what week one could look like. And then I'll tell you how to scale that afterwards. It's not just the same every single week. So what you want to do is if you're training twice a week, let's call it Monday and Thursday for simplicity, you do want some symmetry.

So I'll describe to you what week one could look like. And then I'll tell you how to scale that afterwards. It's not just the same every single week. So what you want to do is if you're training twice a week, let's call it Monday and Thursday for simplicity, you do want some symmetry.

So you don't want a situation in which you train with weights Monday, Tuesday, and then you take the rest of the week to do other stuff. If you only train twice a week, you want it to be roughly evenly spread. So Monday, Thursday, Wednesday, Friday, that sort of thing.

So you don't want a situation in which you train with weights Monday, Tuesday, and then you take the rest of the week to do other stuff. If you only train twice a week, you want it to be roughly evenly spread. So Monday, Thursday, Wednesday, Friday, that sort of thing.

And because your muscles don't take usually a whole week to recover, but if you push them hard, maybe at most half a week, you can train every major muscle group of your body in every single session that you do. So both Monday and Thursday, we'll have every major muscle group being trained. Routines that have the muscle group separated are called split routines. Chest one day, back the next.

And because your muscles don't take usually a whole week to recover, but if you push them hard, maybe at most half a week, you can train every major muscle group of your body in every single session that you do. So both Monday and Thursday, we'll have every major muscle group being trained. Routines that have the muscle group separated are called split routines. Chest one day, back the next.

mostly pro bodybuilders are the only ones that benefit from that sort of thing. And there's a lot of nuance about how to execute that sort of thing. So whole body training is probably best for almost everyone who is trying to get the health benefits, longevity benefits, the aesthetic benefits, and so on and so forth.

mostly pro bodybuilders are the only ones that benefit from that sort of thing. And there's a lot of nuance about how to execute that sort of thing. So whole body training is probably best for almost everyone who is trying to get the health benefits, longevity benefits, the aesthetic benefits, and so on and so forth.

The next thing you want to do is you want to conserve time, but you want a high degree of effect. And that's going to impose some recommendations on us that do both of those things. One recommendation is to choose lifts, to choose exercises that involve two components. One is large muscle masses.

The next thing you want to do is you want to conserve time, but you want a high degree of effect. And that's going to impose some recommendations on us that do both of those things. One recommendation is to choose lifts, to choose exercises that involve two components. One is large muscle masses.

So you're not going to be doing a lot of forearm curls or tibialis anterior calf raises, where the muscle you're training is as much muscle as your pinky finger, and that's about it. You're going to be training muscles like the quadriceps, the glutes, the hamstrings, the musculature of the back, the chest, the shoulders, the arms, etc.

So you're not going to be doing a lot of forearm curls or tibialis anterior calf raises, where the muscle you're training is as much muscle as your pinky finger, and that's about it. You're going to be training muscles like the quadriceps, the glutes, the hamstrings, the musculature of the back, the chest, the shoulders, the arms, etc.

And choosing exercises that train those muscles, preferably not just one muscle at a time. So then we're using muscles very efficiently because we're pushing multiple muscles to their limits in one exercise.

And choosing exercises that train those muscles, preferably not just one muscle at a time. So then we're using muscles very efficiently because we're pushing multiple muscles to their limits in one exercise.

This is generally going to be compound movements, multi-joint movements, things like pull-ups, pull-downs, barbell and dumbbell bent-over rows that, for the back at least, engage the forearm flexion muscles, the biceps, etc. They engage actually the muscles of the forearm themselves through your grip.