For ANY questions unanswered, get right on the forum. For any technical issues email support@Hypertrophycoach.com. Search the help and guide section first.  Also use the “search” tab.

Pick a program. Pick first and foremost based off of personal preference. Next, the program names themselves should give you a good indication of who/what they are for. For more detail, watch the video describing each program in more detail.

For each program you can see an overview of the program, and the programming for the week. With the workouts you will see the exercises. For more detailed descriptions on how to perform the exercises, click on them and watch the execution videos. The prescribed number sets, and reps are also listed for each. Log and track your workouts (weight, reps, additional notes) right within the App’s logbook. You can swap exercises if needed, add additional sets, and swap out any programmed “pump/metabolic” work.

All additional educational content is within the “TV” section, dig deep in the “Hypertrophy Nerd Sh!t” and Hypertrophycoach University sections, and if you’re a trainer, be sure to check out the “Trainers Corner”. And there’s truly too much more to list.

I’ve been overboard, obsessed into training since I was 15, turned that personal obsession/passion into my profession at 20. Have worked with everyone from the average and elderly, to the genetic elite.

To help you put on muscle as fast, and efficiently as possible. (Efficiency meaning longevity is in mind with every decision). While providing you with the most complete picture of what goes into the muscle building process. Giving you solid principles and tools to help you make the best gym decisions on your own (if that’s your goal)

Use your brain, not your emotions. “Be emotional and passionate as hell about WHY you train, and be unemotional and unbiased about the tools you use when you train.”

I’m attached to nothing (hopefully). Nothing is about right or wrong, more so “best place to start”

I want to help you manage the expectations that come with your actions, leaving you with a balanced, positive view towards everything that is your training.

Force. Specially, Intramuscular force. For some amount of volume.
What seems to lead to a large amount of intramuscular force production? High threshold motor recruitment (ideally from the largest percentage of individual contractile fibers). Which seems to be caused by: load (high percentage of one rep max), unintentionally slow rep speed. Which is why training in close proximity to failure is important (both these occur there)
Everything else…
Chris Beardsley – Effective Rep Theory

“Putting on muscle is easy” – Jordan Peters

Progressive overload, nutrition, sleep, willingness to endure pain/discomfort, a growth mentality. All very easy/simple on paper.

Adherence, mentality, ownership is what makes the “on paper” stuff the hardest part, as far as daily actions are concerned. The most important thing to recognize here is 95% of all results are produced as a result of these two bullet points. And the most important take home: DON’T GET LOST IN THE WEEDS looking for some magical, complicated reason you aren’t producing results. Be honest/realistic with yourself. Get yourself in order with these first two, then let’s dig into the nuance.

The rest. The nuance: Split, exercise selection, volume, training frequency, training proximity to failure, supplements, etc.  These are most important for longevity (orthopedic), individual response (genetics, structure, “lagging” body parts), and pursuing optimal/efficiency. These absolutely become more important the more advanced you get, but overall WAY too much time, energy and emotion is invested into all these nuanced variables.

BUILD SOLID PRINCIPLES AND CONCEPTS to help make decisions. Don’t look for right/wrong, just understand and place things – No Teams – use your brain, not your emotion. And realize as long as people are involved, there can never be one “right” answer. The best you can do for yourself is make educated decisions, and manage expectations from there.

Is it really low volume? Or is my one rep (my circle), just different than others. My “on paper” rep could truly be four times the volume of someone else’s rep.

IMO volume is the most taxing on recovery, (and orthopedically) I want as few reps as possible total, to accumulate as many effective reps as possible. This is why EVENTUALLY I want most people training to failure.

Leave “bullets in the gun”, so down the road, increased volume is still an option.

The intensity advantage – if the stimulus of high force production is the limiting factor, it’s easier to add more high intensity (load) reps with lower volume, increased frequency. (Compare 10 working sets in one workout to the same volume in two workouts)

Largely “overhyped”. VERY individual. Consider: how hard you train, proximity to failure, number of off days, working volume, recovery, sleep, nutrition, stress, etc….can’t be the same formula for everyone. So people will NEVER need to really periodize.

The most important variable to periodize is volume.  Mostly is done with longer periods of “traditional” programming, and shorter recovery phases.
The next most changed variable is proximity to failure.

Occasional “relearning” phases can have a place as well. Where the main focus is form and execution. (Effort is only as useful as it is well directed)

Top and back off. A very simple way to ensure the highest intensity is used (load). And allows for broad rep ranges and a lot of effective reps to be used. You don’t need to

Also a good method to help you not feel like you need to choose: “blow your load” or save yourself.

Base metric of volume is ONE REP
Profiles (load change over the exercise ROM)
Using gravity (eccentrics), Momentum (direction changes/launching)
Alignment (is the trained muscle what’s even moving stuff)
Bracing/proximity to failure considerations

Program intangibles
Research vs anecdotal

Shift mental focus from external (life stuff), to internal (your body)
Saves warmup volume (ATP migration on the brain side)
Takes you to end ranges (full ROM is import, but not always under load)
Preservers ROM
Improves “mind muscle connection”

Alignment – Puts targeted fibers in the best mechanically advantageous position to work. Adheres to joint mechanics

Profiles – at any given point in an exercises ROM the load uses matches the force your body can produce there (most importantly “overloading mid/lengthened ranges)

Bracing – There are components of “complexity” and “stability” here. But even more important than that is the ability to push in opposition of the load used, into something unmoving.

Large ROM as much as possible, adhering to the first 3 principles. This is the notion of “big” movements.
The exercises that make up all of these principles qualify as “Meat and Potatoes” movements. And should be the foundation/priority of your programming and workout

There is nothing wrong with using movements that aren’t “perfect”, just mange the expectations associated with them.

Pump work – “left over ROM”

Evidence (peer reviewed and anecdotal) supports the use of broad rep ranges for Hypertrophy
Ranges are simple because everyone is different, including preference and performance
Some of the rep ranges are based off of professional observation (the higher ranges for quads, glutes, delts, etc)

What happens when you train to failure?
Training near to failure is NOT a necessity for everyone (training in close proximity to failure is)
Proximity to failure is a training tool
When less is more (my “as little as possible, for maximal results” principle)
Some people don’t need to for a time, most people eventually will, some people never will
Recovery tax trade off
Effective volume of 1 working set to failure, compared to the same number of effective reps with multiple sets and RIR

It may lead to adequate hypertrophy through force production (just in another way)
It may lead to hypertrophy through metabolic pathways
It may help recovery (kind of)
It may be really fun (do you enjoy it)
The anecdotal evidence
In my professional opinion it works as long as your recovery is adequate

Adequate protein, tracking intake, consistency and adherence are king
Sleep, minimum of 8 hours
Stress. -managed
Off days – move
Recovery phases (deload/devolume)