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On Mondays, we’ll lock in together: See below for a motivational tidbit to start your week, perspective on movement I’m focusing on, and music I’m enjoying I’d like to share with you 🙂
1/3. Motivation
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
This profound quote reminds us that every aspiration, no matter how ambitious, is built upon a foundational first action. It underscores the power of incremental progress, assuring us that even the most daunting goals become achievable when broken down into manageable, initial steps. The true significance isn't in the overwhelming distance, but in the courage to simply begin.
Let's humanize this wisdom in our everyday lives.
Feeling uncertain about your career path? Reaching out to a mentor or dedicating time for a mindful self-reflection walk isn't indecisiveness; it's a vital first step in navigating your future.
Trying to shift a habit like overspending? You won't reverse it all in one day. Instead, it might be compounding small acts like making coffee at home or bringing groceries for office snacks.
Hoping to develop more of a morning routine? Simply moving your alarm across the room to break a snooze cycle could be a great start.
Hoping to start a strength training routine but don’t know where to start? Perhaps it's just a conversation with a friend about their gym experience or watching a couple of YouTube videos to give you confidence.
This quote, while seemingly "in the ether," applies to everything from minimizing daily screen time to charting the course of your life.
Intention for the Week: Let this be the week you embrace the power of the single step. Identify one small action you can take toward a larger goal, and trust that this initial momentum will carry you forward on your unique journey.
2/3. Movement
Your Strategic Blueprint: Unlocking Faster Progress with Training Splits
Week 1
I’m going to bring in a bit of a structured focus for the next 3-4 months 🙂 I have loved building, shaping, and continuing to evolve my gym routine, and I hope this focus will (hopefully) be a useful tool to understanding mine and potentially adopting the training style that's been a game-changer for my own fitness journey: incorporating a structured split into my lifting routine.
I used to take 20-30 minutes to plan what I’d do once I entered a gym so I wouldn’t look ‘like I didn’t belong’ - which is silly , any and every one in a gym belongs there. Gyms should be a place where we celebrate progress, not just compare ourselves to others who seem to ‘know what they’re doing’. You’re capable of being the person you may look up to for moving so swiftly through their work out and unlock faster progress, better recovery, and more consistent gains by approaching your training strategically.
That's exactly what we're going to explore. My goal is to preview all different gym ‘splits’ and then provide in depth guides into each. I’m going to start by breaking down my current Push/Pull/Legs split that I cycle twice a week. I’m going to do this through digestible weekly "bits," culminating in a complete guide you can download and use.
What's Next?
Over the coming weeks, we'll dive deep into why training a muscle group more frequently can accelerate your progress, the exact structure of my split, specific exercises for each day, and how other critical elements (cardio, nutrition, recovery) play a role. By the end of this series, you'll have all the tools to understand if a PPL split is right for you, and how to potentially implement one. After that, we’ll explore the different forms of splits.
I Want to Hear From You!
As we embark on this journey, I'd love to hear your questions. Have you tried a high-frequency split before? What challenges have you faced with your current routine? Are there specific muscle groups you struggle to grow? What’s on your mind?
Please hit reply to this email or email [email protected] and send me any questions, thoughts, or topics you'd like me to cover in more detail as we build this guide. Your input will help me tailor the content to be as valuable as possible!
WITHOUT FURTHER ADO… LET’S GET INTO IT!
WEEK 1: Let’s Start With The Basics - What’s a Lifting Split?
To kick things off, let's define our terms. When we talk about a "lifting split," we're simply referring to how you divide your body parts across your training days throughout the week. Instead of training your entire body in one session, a split allows you to dedicate more focused attention and volume to specific muscle groups.
For example, some common splits include:
Upper/Lower: Divides the body into two main workout types. Ideal for those who lift 3-4x a week
Push/Pull/Legs (PPL): Organizes exercises by movement pattern. Good for those who lift 5-6x a week
Body Part Split: Focuses on one / two muscle groups per session. Best for those who lift 5-6x a week and are honing in on specific muscles or movements
I lift six times a week and have adapted to a higher-frequency PPL style over time. This allows me to hit each major muscle group twice a week, providing consistent stimulus for growth, recovery, and strength.
Note: While a full body approach - training all major muscle groups in one session, typically 2-3 times a week - is not a ‘split’ due to the nature of training all muscles, it is great way to train for beginners or people with unpredictable schedules who still want to make progress consistently. While I won’t include that in this deep-dive guide we will tackle this method to training in the future 🙂
3/3. Music
Feel good oldie but a goodie by The Killers, it speaks for itself.
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