You’re on a road trip. You have a perfect picture of your destination and can’t wait to start. The thing is, you’ll never make it there. You don’t have a map. That’s your fitness journey without a workout routine that matches your goals.
Dramatic analogies aside, you really do need to ensure that all the hard work and time spent in the gym actually ends up mattering. Time and time again, I see the same people in the gym, pushing the same weight and looking the same as they did when they started. That is why I started MaldoFit in the first place. Most people either follow whatever trendy nonsense the fitness industry pumps out or walk into the gym and just use whatever random machine is open. So, let's get you that roadmap.
For the sake of brevity and because I specialize in this specific type of training, I’m only going to cover the most popular goal among younger men: hypertrophy, or building muscle for the sake of aesthetics and size.
Hypertrophy training
Think Instagram gym influencers and bodybuilders…
This training style caters to most people’s goals and focuses on building more muscle rather than purely on strength. Strength is a nice byproduct of this training but is not the goal. Hypertrophy training is focused on working the muscle to exhaustion or muscle failure. This sounds like a bad thing, but it’s really not.
Muscle failure occurs when a muscle is exerted to the point where it can no longer complete another rep with good form. Repeatedly doing this creates small abrasions in the muscle fibers, which the body repairs with bigger muscle fibers.
Whether you are gaining or losing weight, I recommend keeping this style of training the same. However, it is important to note that when cutting weight, it becomes less about gaining muscle and more about keeping the muscle you already have. Without adequate food to repair the muscle fibers, the body is less willing to build new muscle, and some muscle can be lost during this process.
The Plan
So, how do you reach your goal of looking like a superhero? Hypertrophy training is pretty open-ended in terms of how you can train. In general, though, you should aim to do around 20 sets per muscle group each week. Each of these sets should be 5-15 reps, but this is less important than the next part.
The most important part of hypertrophy training is pushing your body to its limits. If there is insufficient stress placed on the muscle, it will have no reason to develop. When it does get bigger and stronger, you’ll need to increase the difficulty of your lifts as well. This process is known as progressive overload and is a key aspect in all areas of weight training. Essentially, it just means you should be moving more weight or doing more reps than you did the previous time you worked that muscle.
You can find all sorts of hypertrophy-style workout routines online, or I can make you one through my coaching service. I like to follow a Push-Pull-Legs routine, which involves using pushing muscles (chest, shoulder, triceps), pulling muscles (back, rear delts, triceps), and legs on their own day. The theory behind this is that the muscles will get worked more because they naturally work together. For example, a bench press works all three push muscle groups, making training them on the same day more efficient. In reality, as long as you train each muscle 2 times a week and give them enough time to recover, the actual order isn’t all that important.
It's also never a bad idea to tweak your workout plan to your own body. While one person may have naturally developed shoulders, others may need to give their shoulders more attention in their routine. Your workout routine should evolve as you progress, being updated every few months or so. By switching up your exercises, you can find which ones work best for you.
Machines vs. Free Weight
A common question I get asked is whether doing exercises with weights or machines is better. The truth is… it depends. Ideally, you should have a routine incorporating both since they have different benefits. Free weights generally require you to use more stabilizing muscles, which lowers the total weight you can do, but they generally involve more muscle fibers.
Machines are the opposite. Since machines generally operate on a fixed track or pulley system, support muscles do not need to work as hard. This means you can push more total weight. Additionally, machines are generally safer, which makes them great for the end of a series of exercises, allowing you to put 100% effort into your last set without fear of injury. Far too often, going all out on free weights has caused me to get injured or embarrassed because I drop weights on myself and need to save.
What About Cardio?
Probably the biggest lie the fitness industry pushes is that you NEED to do cardio to lose weight. Remember, as long as you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. Cardio certainly can make this easier, but don’t feel like you need to spend hours on the treadmill each week. 15 minutes of cardio a day is plenty.
You definitely don’t need to do super intense cardio, either. My favorite (or just least hated) type of cardio to do is incline walking on the treadmill. I’ll set it to max or near max incline and walk at a brisk pace for about 15 minutes. It's much less painful than running and burns roughly the same calories. I’ve always just seen cardio as a way to be able to eat more and lose weight at the same rate, not as a means of losing weight in and of itself. 90% of the work should be done by your diet, while cardio gives you some extra cushion so you aren’t stuck feeling hungry
So now you're that much better equipped to achieve your goals. I've given you a general idea of what your routine should be and how much and what type of exercise you need to do to achieve your goals. If you still feel like you don't know where to start, feel free to reach out via email or Instagram below. Regardless of what routine you end up following, consistency is key. Keep lacing your shoes and going to the gym because being there is better than nothing. And remember...
Keep Fitness Simple
-Tom
Email: tomamaldonado@gmail.com
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