Gym training program for men: a set of strength exercises for a week

Fitness and bodybuildingExercise

Has your workout become a routine? 7 of the toughest exercises for men will test your limits and help you set new goals!

Author:

Ashley Mateo

If you exude confidence in your abilities at the gym, chances are you often do a lot of deadlifts, bench presses, and squats with a decent amount of weight. The exercises are hard, no doubt about it. But this does not mean that they are the most difficult. In fact, exercises that will force you to test the limits of your capabilities look simple on the surface - until you try to perform them according to all the rules.

Men tend to focus on heavy compound movements that add mass and size to the chest and arms, but often ignore exercises that focus on developing flexibility, mobility, and balance in any body position. Meanwhile, all these skills are key conditions for good mobility in the joints and the correct execution of those very “male” exercises.

But since the names of these exercises are strongly associated with yoga classes, Pilates or dance studios, it is difficult to find guys who do them. Many consider them not worthy of attention at all. But if you continue to bombard your muscles with a heavy “base”, and at the same time cannot work through the entire amplitude of movement, the stiffness of the joints and ligaments will only intensify.

The proposed 7 exercises usually turn out to be the most difficult for men, and not so much because of the heavy load on the muscles, but because of the high demands on stretching and mobility in the joints. The best personal trainers explain why these movements are so difficult, how to learn how to do them, and how to reap the maximum muscle-building dividends from them.

One-leg hamstring curl on a fitball

Execution technique.

Place the fitball in front of you. Lie on the floor, stretch your arms along your body. Press your heel into the ball and lift your other leg up (extended or bent at the knee and hip joints). Now lift your buttocks and thighs off the floor. Make sure your spine remains straight; Tighten your abdominal muscles. Press your heel into the ball as you bend your leg and pull it toward your butt. Reverse the movement to move the ball away from your buttocks and return to the starting position.

What is the difficulty for men?

“Most of the time, guys don't work their legs properly, and when they get to their legs, they do heavy bases like deadlifts, squats, or leg presses, because those exercises look and feel masculine,” says Alonzo Wilson, the gym's founder. Tone House in New York. “Also, guys rarely isolate one leg or do unilateral exercises, which causes the hamstrings to lag.” Unilateral, or one-sided, exercises are very important. In them, the strong side cannot compensate for the lag of the weak side, which helps correct muscle imbalance.

What's the best way to do it?

Execution technique is of paramount importance. "Make sure you don't round your back," Wilson says. “When your back arches or you sink your hips, you take a lot of the load off your hamstrings, which is the muscle this exercise targets!”

Exercises for varicose veins

For varicose veins, all exercises should be aimed at increasing blood flow in the legs and strengthening blood vessels. Heavy loads are prohibited. It is recommended to perform a small set of special exercises daily, as well as walk and swim.

The following exercises are considered the most effective:

• jumping (you need to jump low and smoothly);
• Mikulin jumps, in which the heels need to be raised from the floor by only 1 cm, and then sharply hit the floor to create a slight vibration in the body;
• exercise “bicycle” (in a lying position, legs raised perpendicular to the body, make circular movements, like on a bicycle);
• “scissors” exercise (lying down, you need to make swinging movements with your legs raised perpendicular to the body and cross them alternately);
• shallow squats without weights;
• swinging your legs, which helps speed up the blood and warm up the muscles.

Classic barbell squats

Execution technique.

Load the barbell with a weight that is 85-100% of your body weight. Fix the projectile on the trapezius muscles, bring your shoulder blades together. As you inhale, tighten your abdominal muscles and squat down to parallel. Return to the starting position, pushing through your heels and big toes. Exhale at the top point.

What is the difficulty for men?

The average guy faces two problems, says Adam Rosante, trainer and author of The 30 Second Body. “First, most guys don't train their lower body with free weights regularly. As a result, when they try to squat with a loaded barbell, their legs begin to beg for mercy and their heart jumps out of their chest. Maintaining balance in such a situation is extremely problematic. The second problem is a lack of flexibility and stretch in the hips and ankles. Most guys I see in the gym don't spend any time working on flexibility or stretching at all."

What's the best way to do it?

It's time to incorporate stretching exercises into your workout routine. “Spend 10 minutes working on flexibility and mobility in your hips, glutes, quads, and ankles before starting your workout,” recommends Rosante. Do at least five stretches before doing heavy squats. If you can't even technically perform bodyweight squats, don't try to squat with a barbell on your shoulders.

“In this situation, it makes sense to start with 4 sets of 12 bodyweight squats. Work this pattern for 2-3 weeks, then move on to an empty bar, and only then begin to gradually add weight, advises Rosante. “Hone your technique first and build a solid foundation.”

When will you see results from doing strength exercises in the gym?

The fruits of working in the gym and, at times, a grueling lifestyle, when an athlete simply forces himself to eat a huge amount of food, and strictly according to the clock, can be noticed already in the first months of training. Much depends on the athlete’s genetics, his constitution and lifestyle. After all, in addition to working hard in the gym and eating well, an athlete should spend about eight hours sleeping. Testosterone levels and general hormonal levels also play an important role.

Closed horizon on uneven bars

Execution technique.

Place your hands on paralets or regular aluminum bars for push-ups, transfer your center of gravity forward to the shoulder girdle, and pull your legs bent at the knees under your body. The pelvis and shoulder joints are at the same level, the back is parallel to the ground.

What is the difficulty for men?

“The difficulty of the closed horizon (planche) is that it requires isometric contraction of almost all muscle groups. The muscles of most guys are simply not familiar with this type of load. In addition, the horizon requires mobility, strength and excellent intermuscular coordination,” explains Steven Check, founder of the club in New York. The only people who constantly train this way are gymnasts.

What's the best way to do it?

“Start with the float exercise - it’s like a plank, only on your palms and with a rounded back. Learn to shift your body weight forward so that your hands are almost level with your hips, says Check. “Consciously engage your stabilizer muscles and tighten your gluteal complex.” Once you've mastered this exercise, you can move onto parallel bars and use a raised surface (like a yoga block) to support your feet until you can support your body on your arms alone.

Corrects imbalances and prevents injuries

Many injuries occur not only from joint instability, but also because the left and right sides of the body have different strength and mobility (). Every person has a weak side of the body and uses it less in life. Research has shown that differences in strength between limbs can be as much as 25% (). If a program only includes bilateral exercises, it perpetuates the imbalance and forces the dominant side of the body to take over the load to compensate for the weakness of the other limb. This uneven load can lead to injury over time.

Unilateral training allows you to load both sides evenly - you can give additional load to the weak side or reduce the load on the strong side by changing the weights and the number of approaches in the exercise.

Side lunges

Execution technique.

Step your left foot to the side and lower your pelvis, squatting back and down on your left side. Make sure your right leg remains straight. Return to the starting position, pushing off with your left leg. Switch sides and repeat the movement. Perform the exercise with your own weight or with weights.

What is the difficulty for men?

“Most everyday movements involve moving forward or backward, although moving in different planes makes us more flexible,” says Joey Thurman, a certified personal trainer. — Lateral lunges are especially difficult for men because we do them extremely rarely; the exercise looks "girly". In addition, it requires a good stretch in the hip area, which is usually lame in guys for two reasons. Firstly, we sit all day long, which leads to shortening of the hip and pelvic muscles, and secondly, we overload the quadriceps, which also leads to tightness in the hip area.”

What's the best way to do it?

Stretch the muscles of the front, back of the thigh and gluteal complex on the massage roller to open up your hips. “Deep bodyweight squats are very beneficial for developing hip flexibility,” says Thurman. “You need to squat until you bend at an angle of 90-130 degrees in the hip joints and up to 110-165 degrees in the knee joints.”

At least once a day, squat as deeply as possible without letting your heels touch the floor. Stay in this position for 30 seconds and only then rise. Continue this exercise until your buttocks begin to touch the ground. “This will help move the pelvis far enough back in side lunges so that the hip bone touches the abdominal wall with a neutral spine,” adds Thurman.

Deadlift

The deadlift is one of the best exercises for training the legs, using the muscles that run along both sides of the spinal line.

Deadlift technique

Standing in front of the barbell, tilt the torso forward, shifting the pelvis back and arching the lower back. Legs are kept straight. Take the barbell in your hands with an overhand grip, take a deep breath and, moving your pelvis forward, straighten your body. Exhale air. While repeating the movement, do not let go of the barbell.

Important! After completing the entire set of exercises, it is necessary to restore the flexibility and elasticity of the working muscles. Stretching your legs after exercise stimulates muscle recovery and helps reduce pain.

We also recommend studying this topic:

Effective exercises for the hamstrings

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Pistol squats

Execution technique.

From the starting position, extend one leg in front of you, keeping it straight. Bend your other knee and lower yourself under control until the back of your thigh touches your calf muscles. Push through your heel to return to the starting position.

What is the difficulty for men?

“Guys rarely forget to exercise their arms or chest muscles, while their legs get less attention. Unilateral movements that require flexibility and balance receive even less attention, says Albert Matheny, a certified strength and functional trainer. — Pistol squats not only test the strength and durability of one leg, but to perform correctly they also require significant flexibility in the lower back, hamstrings and ankle joints. I rarely see guys with good stretch—and good strength—in all of those areas.”

What's the best way to do it?

To master pistol squats, you need to remember the principle of progressive training. “First, reduce the depth of your squats until you can do at least 3 sets of 5 successful reps,” says Matheny. - When you can do 3 sets of 10, start squatting deeper. At first, you can keep a counterweight in front of you, it will help you maintain balance.” Incorporating basic hamstring and lower back stretches into your training schedule will also help, Matheny adds.

Recommendations for strength training in the gym

Training for men is a set of energy-intensive, heavy exercises that require a sufficient amount of energy and strength to perform. Only a proper diet and proper rest will help an athlete train as effectively as possible, so much attention should be paid to a balanced diet rich in proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The ideal option would be to eat multiple meals throughout the day, for example, five to six meals.

And also read how to eat before and after training.

Sports nutrition is an effective aid in achieving results. It should be chosen based on body composition, but sports supplements such as amino acids and protein will not hurt anyone, and you can also consider taking pre-workout cocktails in the future. Sports nutrition is best used as a means to close the protein-carbohydrate window after training and in the morning, immediately after sleep. It can also be used in cases where a full meal is not possible.

Another important point is proper rest after training. The recovery process lasts from two to ten days, so it is best to distribute training so that after the load the muscle group has the opportunity to rest for at least six days.

Read more about post-workout recovery →

It is very important to do a warm-up before performing the main approaches, since all basic exercises, and training in the gym for men is built on the basis of basic exercises, are very traumatic.

After your workout, it’s a good idea to take time to stretch the muscles involved. Stretching will reduce stiffness and increase the elasticity of the fibers. Read more about post-workout stretching →

Pull-ups

Execution technique.

Grab the bar and hang with straight arms. Tighten your core and pull yourself up until the bar touches your collarbone. Slowly lower yourself down, maintaining tension in your core and latissimus dorsi muscles.

What is the difficulty for men?

“The average guy has a hard time doing clean pull-ups - without swinging on the horizontal bar, without bending. The reason for this is limited mobility in the shoulder joints and poor stretching of the latissimus muscles, says coach Angelo Grinseri. “These problems typically have three causes: partial range of motion training borrowed from bodybuilding, a lack of full body exercises in training, and a sedentary lifestyle that tightens the chest and shoulders and weakens the latissimus dorsi muscles.”

What's the best way to do it?

First, stretch your latissimus muscles on a massage roller or use other options for relaxing them. “The next step is stretching the lats. To do this, hang on the horizontal bar for at least 30-60 seconds every day, says Grinseri. “Start pull-ups with one repetition, and when you can do pull-ups with perfect form, add more repetitions.”

Skiing. Egor Sorin - coach of the Russian national team

The specifics of skiing are very different from bodybuilding and football. One of the most important factors is breathing work and endurance. And the legs are responsible for the speed of the skier and his power, since pushing movements are key.

– How important are powerful legs in skiing?

– Leg power plays a key role in modern skiing. Especially with the advent of sprint disciplines, where maximum acceleration over short periods is important. Strength alone will not be enough - speed is also important. In our understanding, power is force multiplied by time. You can't reach the top level without powerful legs.

– Do skiers work with iron?

- Without fail. Previously, the team did not have a special coach, but now we consult with specialized specialists who help in working with the hardware.

– What program do skiers follow?

– Preparation depends on the period of the season. May-June, when the sprint stages begin, work is done on the number of repetitions - according to the classics, 10-12 repetitions. When the relay races begin, we prepare with heavy weights. There is also a block for developing maximum strength and power. But we try to combine training: in one session we give exercises to both develop strength and increase power.

-Can I do squats?

- Yes. Previously, they refused to squat due to the risk of injury. Now everything has changed: we use special belts, insure, install equipment. Nothing builds leg strength better than the squat. No leg press can replace it.

– Do you squat in Smith or with free weight?

– Anyone who does not yet have perfect technique squats in Smith. When we see that the athlete is ready, we move on to free weight.

– Does the national team use a system of snatch running training?

- Certainly. We do such training both running and on roller skates. Now this style has become popular: some people take limited rest between accelerations, but I still favor full recovery after the jerk.

– How important is stretching after leg day?

– We don’t use stretching immediately after strength training. The muscles have contracted, tensed, and become toned - if you add stretching, this will not have the best effect. But the next day we add it. This is our rule: after strength work and work on rollers, it is imperative to bring the muscles back into an elastic form. Without stretching, some exercises cannot be performed correctly in terms of technique.

Squats and one-arm kettlebell push

Execution technique.

Grab a kettlebell and get into the starting position to push the kettlebell overhead. Perform a clean and jerk: lift the kettlebell above your head and lock your knuckles. At this time, the palm faces forward, the weight lies on the back of the forearm. Fix your arms so that there are a few centimeters between your biceps and your ear. Without lowering your arm, perform a deep squat; squat as low as possible, keeping your back straight, shoulders turned, and knees out. Push through your heels to return to the starting position and perform the exercise on the opposite side.

What is the difficulty for men?

“It’s not an easy exercise for guys because you have to fully extend your arm overhead, test flexibility in your shoulders and test hip stretch,” says Roman Siromakha, CrossFit coach. “Many guys have a hard time with overhead movements because they only do the beloved bench press, and men’s hips are almost always tight because they spend so little time stretching.”

How to do better.

As a warm-up for the shoulder girdle, Siromakha suggests doing stretches with a gymnastic stick. Stand up straight, take a gymnastic stick or a regular PVC pipe with a wide grip. Keeping your arms straight, lift the tube above your head and then slide it behind your back until it touches your buttocks. When the exercise becomes easier, reduce the grip width by one finger. (Exercises like shoulder touch plank and even downward dog can also help increase range of motion in your shoulders.) “Make sure you can squat down so that your pelvis is below your knee joints,” Siromakha says. “If you can’t do this, practice squats on a box or bench, gradually lowering the height of the stand to learn how to squat through the full range of motion.”

Week 1

Week 2

Week 4

Week 3