Monday Muscle - The Body Beautiful

I have previously discussed using a whole body workout for 5 days in a row ro get used to working with weights and how to perform the various moves correctly. However, you cannot keep using this system forever. The body is a finely tuned mechanism that adapts to the demands placed upon it, whether it is growing stronger or losing weight. To overcome this and to stop it from stagnating you have to keep it from growing used to the same things.

When working with weights, you want to keep your body adapting to the demands placed upon it by becoming fitter and stronger. One of the ways to do this is to change the exercises. By the end of the five day routine you will have a good idea of the weight you can use in the various exercises for the correct number of repetitions. Use these numbers as the starting point for the next phase where the exercises are changed to bring more variety and an adaptive response.

From this point on you will train twice a week on any non-consecutive days - for example a Monday and a Thursday (or any other schedule that suits you). This is so that you can recover between bouts of training as the demands are now greater.

Follow the exercises in the order listed. you are to do 1 set of each exercise for the number of repetitions listed. again, if you are not sure about any of the exercises get a trained and qualified professional to show you how to perform these in the correct manner. As always, as with any exercise routine, you should also get clearance from your medical professional or doctor to proceed with this programme.

• Bench Press (slight incline) - 1 set of 8 repetitions 
• Flyes - 1 set of 8 repetitions 
• Lateral raises - 1 set of 8 repetitions 
• Overhead dumbell press - 1 set of 8 repetitions 
• Squat (or leg press) - 1 set of 12 repetitions 
• Rows (cable or barbell/dumbell) - 1 set of 8 repetitions 
• Bicep curls (barbell or dumbell) - 1 set of 8 repetitions 
• Triceps extensions - 1 set of 8 repetitions 
• Crunches - 1 set of 15 repetitions 

There you have it - a full body routine that you can use as the base to sculpt your ideal shape. Follow this for at least 1 month and see how you will have started your road to transformation.

Best of luck