Mens Health - Total Body Workout | Page 5

down your left side with your left arm, feel the
squeeze in your obliques, repeat on your right side.
A
BAB
AB
AB
AB
AB
STIFF-LEGGED DEADLIFT
Sets:
3Repetitions: 8
STANDING GOOD MORNING
Sets:
3Repetitions:8
TWISTING CRUNCH
Sets:
3Repetitions: 10 on each side
SIDE CRUNCH
Sets:
3Repetitions:10 - 12 on each side
V–UP
Sets:
3Repetitions: 15 - 25
CABLE CRUNCH
Sets:
3Repetitions:10 - 15
Total Body Workbook

www.menshealth.com|TOTAL BODY WORKBOOK21MEN’S HEALTH
BEGINNER
ADVANCED BEGINNER
BAD FORM
Frequency:Do these exercises three times a week as part
of a total-body weight workout.
Rest:1 minute between exercises
Progress:Increase weights each week.
How long: Follow this program for your first 4 to 8 weeksof exercise, or for 2 to 3 weeks after returning from a
break. When you peak in the Beginner program—when
you can’t increase the weight from one week to the
next, in other words—you’re ready to move on to the
Advanced Beginner workout.
Frequency: Do these exercises three times a week as part
of a total-body weight workout.
Technique: Increase weights on each set.
Rest: 2 minutes between sets
Progress: Use heavier weights each week.
Variety: After 3 weeks to a month, switch back to theexercises described in the Beginner program. But this
time you should do three sets of each exercise, increasing
the weight on each set.
How long: When your strength and muscle size stop
improving, or when you have the time and energy to do
more exercises, move to the next level.
Wide vs. Thick Gym lore has it that pullups and pulldowns only make your lats wider and that
rows only make them thicker. The gym rats are wrong about what the muscle fibers can and can’t do, but
partially right about how the exercises affect your back’s appearance, says Pearson. Muscle fibers can’t
choose to grow wider or thicker based on which exercise you do. Either they grow bigger or they don’t.
When your lats grow larger, they make your entire back look wider. And rowing exercises do make your
back appear thicker because they use other upper-back muscles, including your trapezius and rhomboids.
Pullups and pulldowns are better for isolating your lats, thus adding width. If you want to look both wide and
thick, do both the pulldowns and the rows each time you work your back.
BAD FORM
AB
A
A
B
KEY INFO
Don’t pull bar
behind neck.
Don’t bend too far forward
or lean too far back.
B
AB
Total Body Workbook
LAT PULLDOWN
Sets:
1Repetitions: 12–15
UNDERHAND–GRIP LAT PULLDOWN
Sets:
3Repetitions: 12, 10, 8
MACHINE PULLOVER
Sets:
1Repetitions:12–15
SEATED PULLEY ROW
Sets:
3Repetitions:12, 10, 8

MEN’S HEALTH 22TOTAL BODY WORKBOOK|www.menshealth.com
INTERMEDIATE
Frequency: Divide your workout into two sets of exer-
cises: one for chest, shoulders, and arms, and one for
back, legs, and abdominals. There are two different back
workouts at this level. Do each once a week.
Technique: Start each workout with the heaviest weight
you can use for eight to 10 repetitions. (On chinups, of
course, you’ll use only your body weight.) Drop the weight
slightly for subsequent sets if you need to.
Rest: 2 minutes between sets
Progress: Try to increase the weights each week on the
pulldowns and rows. Also try to do more total chinups
each week: That’s the sum of your repetitions in all threesets; don’t go beyond 10 in any set until you can do 10
in every set.
Variety: When you can’t increase the weight from one
week to the next in any exercise—that is, you’re stuck on
one weight for 2 or 3 consecutive weeks—switch back to
exercises from the Beginner or Advanced Beginner
sections. You should be able to do them with much more
weight. When you stop making progress with those,
return to the Intermediate program.
How long: Train this way for as long as you’re satisfied.
with the results, or until you can do at least 10 chinups in
each set. Then it’s time to try the Advanced program.
Straps or Strapless? One of the fastest ways to develop back strength is to use lifting straps to help you grip
the weights. Your back muscles are stronger than your wrist and hand muscles, so with a little help from straps you’ll be
able to use a lot more weight on pulldowns and rows, and do a few more pullups. But many trainers will tell you never to
use straps—that they limit your ability to develop a strong grip, which in the long run is more important than back
strength. Pearson says it depends on your reason for doing back exercises. “If you’re a rock climber and you’re after maxi-
mum grip strength, don’t use straps,” he says. “But if you’re just trying to develop your back muscles, grip strength is a
secondary concern, and by all means you should use straps.”
WORKOUT 1 WORKOUT 2
AB
A
A
A
B
B
Total Body Workbook
CHINUP
Sets:
3Repetitions: up to 10
WIDE–GRIP BENT–OVER BARBELL ROW
Sets:
1Repetitions: 12–15
OVERHAND–GRIP PULLEY ROW
Sets:
3Repetitions: 8–10
NARROW–LAT PULLDOWN
Sets:
3Repetitions: 8–10

www.menshealth.com|TOTAL BODY WORKBOOK23MEN’S HEALTH
ADVANCED
WORKOUT 1 WORKOUT 2
B
Frequency: Follow the same split routine you used in the
Intermediate program, and perform each of these two
lat workouts once a week.
Technique:Start each exercise with the heaviest weight
you can use for the recommended number of repeti-
tions. For Workout 1, warm up with an easy set or two
of lat pulldowns.
Rest: 2 to 3 minutes between sets
Progress: Increase weights each week on the weighted
exercises, and increase the total number of pullups you
perform