I’m pissed off because it took me so long to figure this out. I’ve made more strength and size gains in the past 2 years than in the previous 10. I’m 37 and this kind of thing doesn’t happen, so they say. Imagine if I had figured this out when I was 27! FWIW I don’t take any supplements or steroids. My hardcore preworkout concoction is Diet Coke. My diet is pretty solid though.

First I’ll show you the workout, and you can just read that if you only want the meat and potatoes. It’s kind of like a part 2 of The perfect workout for the Advanced Bro. Second I’ll present my new 5-10 rule, which is really practical. Third I’ll explain my personalization and eccentricities that work for me but are probably not a good idea for most people.

My goal with this post is to teach you my system and give you the power to go on your own adventure.

Part 1: The workout

“Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own” - Bruce Lee

Weekly foundation

• Day 1: upper
• Day 2: lower
• Day 3: upper
• Day 4: lower
• Low intensity cardio and mobility as much as possible

The gym is just a part of my week though, in fact my most important training happens outside the gym right now. This is my typical week

• Day 1: upper Gym
• Day 2: lower Gym
• Day 3: upper Calisthenics outside
• Day 4: lower Sprints and Agility outside
• Low intensity cardio and mobility as much as possible

This is how I often set up my week, though it changes as needed based on schedule and recovery

• Day 1: [Mon] upper Gym
• Day 2: [Wed] lower Gym
• Day 3: [Fri] upper Calisthenics outside
• Day 4: [Sat] lower Sprints and Agility outside
• Low intensity cardio and mobility as much as possible

Adding in the exercises, lately my typical week looks like below. I sometimes switch the sequence of movements based on priority, but I rarely add or subtract exercises.

• Day 1: [Mon] upper Gym

  • machine overhead press

  • bicep curls

  • tricep extensions

  • lateral raises (all the way up)

  • super wide pull ups

• Day 2: [Wed] lower Gym

  • Zercher squats

  • stiff legged deadlift

  • seated calf raise

  • standing calf raise

  • single leg flying lunges

  • abs, maybe

• Day 3: [Fri] upper Calisthenics outside

  • super wide pull ups

  • dips

  • bicep curls

  • tricep extensions

  • lateral flyes

  • accessory shoulders as needed

• Day 4: [Sat] lower Sprints and Agility outside

  • mobility

  • agility

  • velocity

  • full workout at SprintSF.com

Sometimes I don’t go to the gym at all, in which case my week looks something like this

• Day 1: [Mon] upper Calisthenics outside

  • super wide pull ups

  • dips

  • bicep curls

  • tricep extensions

  • lateral raises

  • accessory shoulders as needed

• Day 2: [Wed] lower Calisthenics outside

  • kettlebell swings

  • assisted pistol squats

  • standing calf raises with resistance

  • single leg calf raises

  • lateral lunges

  • agility (skipping and suicides are my favorite, repeating broad jumps and alternating bounds are great too)

• Day 3: [Fri] upper Calisthenics outside

  • super wide pull ups

  • dips

  • bicep curls

  • tricep extensions

  • lateral raises

  • accessory shoulders as needed

• Day 4: [Sat] lower Sprints and Agility outside

  • mobility

  • agility

  • velocity

  • full workout at SprintSF.com

Part 2: The new 5-10 rule of thumb

“Less, but better” - Dieter Rams

It’s true that you can grow and get bigger and stronger on any kind of program or setup. Compliance and consistency make all the difference, and thus I care about complexity most. For me personally, ALL ELSE EQUAL, less complexity is better than more complexity. See the graphic at the top. I prefer to…

• use less exercises rather than more exercises
• use less volume rather than more volume
• spend less days working out rather than more days working out
• spend less time inside rather than more time inside
• think less rather than more
• track less rather than more
• require less discipline to be successful rather than more
• workout less frequently rather than more frequently

Hence my new 5-10 rule of thumb

• 5-10: the number of exercises per workout
• 5-10: sets per exercise in each workout
• 5-10: reps per set
• 5-10: minutes per exercise per workout
• 50-100: grams of protein per meal

My original plan was to explain each of those 5-10 rules in detail, bringing to bear a matrix of data, history, and bro science. I figure I have to defend it because they are quite contrarian, at least in the strength and performance world. My original version of this section became very long. But then I realized that most of you probably don’t give a damn, so I cut it out. Comment below or email me if you want to see more about these topics, and I might do a follow up if there is interest.

Coincidentally, just a couple days before publishing, I found a new video out from Dr. Mike that pretty much validates all foundations of the 5-10 rule. So I’ll let him do the talking - Everything I've Been Wrong About in Muscle Growth!?. It seems that the science is catching up to my own inferences and anecdotal observations.

Part 3: Let’s get weird

“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” - Hunter S Thompson

This is the section of my own modifications and personalizations. THIS LIKELY WILL NOT WORK FOR YOU. I’m just sharing for the sake being complete and transparent. I’m a lazy obsessive gorilla-pirate, so I have spent tons of time dialing myself in. Your results may very. Here are some of my eccentricities in no particular order

• I don’t listen to music when I’m working out. I don’t even own headphones.
• I don’t take lifting supplements and I don’t take pre workout. Diet Coke is as hardcore as I get.
• I really like to workout completely fasted. This means my first meal is around 7pm or 8pm on those days. I don’t always workout fasted, but I prefer it.
• I don’t use a lifting belt, lifting shoes, lifting straps. I don’t own those things.
• I go to failure or as close to failure as possible on every set.
• Most of my hypertrophy work is done EMOM - every minute on the minute - and I’ve been doing it this way for a couple years. Cardio has to be good enough to handle this though, otherwise it won’t work because you won’t get the stimulus you need for growth.
• Lately I have been experimenting with triple cluster sets. Either EMOM or clusters allow me to get 8-10 sets in about 10 minutes.
• Cluster sets are advanced. I do them like this: Set 1 (0:00), Set 2 (1:00), Set 3 (2:00), Set 4 (4:00), Set 5 (5:00), Set 6 (6:00), Set 7 (8:00), Set 8 (9:00), Set 9 (10:00).
• Sometimes I’ll do antagonist super sets, in which case add 30 seconds per set to the above timing for either EMOM or cluster.
• My pure strength work is done with plenty of rest to be sure, but I’m only pursuing a few movement patterns for pure strength lately: Zercher squat, deadlift, overhead press, hang snatch
• My future version of this program I’m going to start testing in 2025: rather than go to the gym 2-3 times per week, I’m going to try taking every other week off from the gym. Which means gym volume will be cut down by half. This allows for more recovery from hard days, and gives me more time to spend on calisthenics, sprinting, agility, strongman, mobility, and skills.
• Upper / Lower split is so awesome for so many reasons. It wins against push/pull/legs and bro splits all day. It is the superior split. Dr. Mike thinks so too. Paul Carter thinks so too.
• Full body 3x per week is still the best workout for the large majority of novice, beginner, and intermediate folks. It works for advanced too, it just gets really complicated and tiring.
• I really love swings, snatches, throws, and sleds - they are excellent movements. But I don’t have room for them in my current setup. I’m going to figure out how to fix this.
• There are many exercises I don’t do, mostly because I feel like I don’t need gains in those movements anymore. Most controversial of which are bench press and rows. There is no rule that requires you to do a movement just because everyone else is doing it. Do what works for you.
• The older I get the more I wonder - is the gym really the best place to get in shape? For an untrained overweight person, wouldn’t they be best served with brisk walking/rucking, and doing assisted bodyweight stuff? Maybe the gym is actually the best place to augment the shape that you are in once you have reached an acceptable level of fitness.
• Isn’t it crazy that you could spend your entire life in the gym and never sprint, never move quickly, never work on agility, and never get your feet off the ground? This is why I’m doing SprintSF.com. It is my most important workout every week.
• It’s my vision to be top 1% in the world with: Zercher squat, deadlift, overhead press, 100 meter sprint, 400 meter sprint (maybe), horizontal jump. For some moves, I’m already there. For others, I’m a long way off and have lots of work to do.
• Many people accuse me of being very disciplined. I am not disciplined. I’m obsessed. I think having a healthy obsession is the move.

I wish you strength and disco!