Workout

There is no right or wrong. This is what is working for me right now, I might change it later.

Here is my regimen. I optimise for a few things (I don’t know a lot but these seem important to me):

1. There is no goal for my workouts. I don’t think of them having an end goal. I want to keep working out all my life. It is an infinite game to me. There are some intermediate goals I have (a handstand pushup seems pretty cool and a +75% pistol squat too but those are more like checkpoints).
2. Gotta keep doing progressive overload which comes in the form of more weight, more reps, or better tempo (slow eccentric and hold at the deepest stretch).
3. Optimise for load under tension.
4. I do myoreps (only for smaller moments) and lengthened partials. Nothing that will tax out the CNS.
5. I want to get as much as I can out of the shortest duration of the workout.
6. Stimulus to fatigue ratio has to be optimised. I want to workout, but I don’t want it to interfere with the rest of my life.
7. I don’t wanna get huge. I wanna stay lean. I want to play a lot of sports so I want to keep my mobility up. I do wanna get a little bigger in my upper body tho, shirts and polos fit better that way.
8. I want to focus on technique, mobility and injury prevention. So, if I can use lesser weight and a slower tempo to really give myself a similar stimulus I will do that.
9. Warmups are nothing special. Just get my body warm and then do a few light sets of the muscle group I am going to target and that is mostly enough.
10. Nutrition is the key. Having enough protein, taking creatine for recovery and also, getting enough carbs and fats to have the energy for the workouts.
11. The training frequency of different muscles is different. My forearms and side delts recover quick so I train them more often. Forearms for the aesthetics and also frisbee and calisthenics, and delts are mostly for aesthetics, so I focus more on the volume for those for hypertrophy.
12. I might get into supersets later. But for now this program is working for me. The thing is, a lot of the movements I do are compound movements so I don’t wanna overtax my systems.
13. I don’t like a crowded gym. So, I go when there are very few people.
14. I don’t cool down a lot after my workouts because I believe that actually reduces the muscle growth.
15. If I have the time I also do some zone 2 training after my workouts.
16. Tracking: I use the Hevy app to log workouts. Not with super high precision (some exercises aren’t on it), but it keeps me honest with progressive overload.
17. Progression model: I use an 8→10 rep progression. I stay at a weight until I can hit 10 clean reps; then I increase the load and work back up from ~8. For assisted moves, I do the reverse (reduce assistance once I reach 10, then build up from 8). I try to progress every session in either reps or load.
18. Elbow note: I tweaked my left elbow doing lateral raises wrong earlier. They feel awkward, so I’m dropping the weight and taking higher reps with stricter form.

Push Day

• Incline Dumbbell Press (3x8–10) — Full ROM; biasing upper chest/anterior delts.
• Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press (3x8–10)
• Dips (3x8–12) — Slight forward lean, wider grip for more chest.
• Single-Dumbbell Behind-the-Back Tricep Extension (3x8–10) — Emphasis on the lengthened position.
• Side delt work (higher-rep focus) and forearm work (time-permitting).
• Push-Ups — Finisher (3x max reps, perfect form) — First set regular to track progress; can use deficit on later sets for stretch/hold.

Running for 20 mins (optional — if time permits).

Wall Handstand Hold (3x max time) — This helps me progress toward a handstand pushup. Removed for now.

Pull Day

• Cable Rows (3x10–15) — I’d prefer inverted rows but don’t have the setup right now.
• Negative Pull-Ups (3x5) — Rotate grips (underhand, neutral, overhand).
• Machine Assisted Pull-Ups (3x8) — Rotate grips.
• Cable Bicep Curls (3x12) — Or bench curls if the cable is busy.
• Hammer Curls (3x10–12)
• Calf Raises — Slotted between sets during rest.
• Optional: a bit of side delt work.

Chin-Up Isometric Hold (3x max time) — Different grip each time. Removed.

No dedicated forearm/delt block here because the grip demand is already high.

Also, I know there is good reason to use straps here because my grip does fail before my back does, but I feel that since I want to develop a solid grip strength as well so I will take the tradeoffs for now.
Update: I do use lifting straps now on heavier pulling sets to better target the back when grip is the limiter. I still train grip/forearms elsewhere.

Legs + Core Day

• Deficit Weighted Pistol Squats (3x5 each leg) — Working on right/left imbalance over time.
• Side lateral raises (I like hitting these fresh; also buys legs a little recovery between sets).
• Weighted Shrimp Squats (3x6 each leg)
• Forearm training (volume focus; also a breather before the jump work).
• Jump Squats (3x15) alternated with Weighted max-effort verticals (4x3).
• V-Ups — Increasing reps over time.
• Hollow Body Hold — Increasing time over time.
• Side Plank + Reach Through (2x each side) — Slow and controlled.

I’ve started playing a lot of frisbee again, so I try to land leg day on a game day. That means I’m sometimes slacking on the core block a bit, and that’s okay for now.

If leg day comes right before a game day, I switch it to a plyo emphasis: box jumps, depth jumps, approach jumps, single-leg bounds, broad-jumps into vertical jumps — and I pair that with some dead hangs / monkey bars for fun and shoulder health.

Core work remains the same overall — just nudging the V-up reps higher and the hold times longer.

(I mostly swim after this to flush the lactic acid out and also just cool down. I understand that it is not the most optimal thing for muscle growth, but I enjoy swimming a lot) — Saturdays I do a longer swim because Sunday is my day off so my muscles do recover.