Is Walking Also Long Cardio?
Walking does not qualify as Zone 2 cardio for most people, but shares many of its long-term health benefits. Its accessibility, near-zero recovery cost, and complete lack of skill requirement make it the single most powerful lifestyle recommendation a coach can make. Encourage every client to walk at least one hour daily.
What can an ideal training day look like?
- Warm-up — activities to prepare for the session. Corrective exercises and mobility work.
- Light Speed — training ladder, short sprints, bodyweight drills.
- Heavy Speed — weighted explosive activities such as Olympic lifts or strongman events.
- Primary Lifts — heavy lifts (usually using both arms/legs).
- Secondary Lifts — accessory movements, such as unilateral exercises.
- Isolation Work — extra work for smaller body parts like calves, biceps, triceps.
- Cardio/Conditioning — higher duration, higher rep work to train work capacity and fat loss.
How to Put Exercises in a Week — Training Splits
A "split" is simply the pattern used to divide muscle groups or movement types across the days of a training week. None of the splits below is inherently superior — the right choice depends entirely on how many days a client can realistically train, and how quickly each of those days needs to feel manageable to sustain over months, not weeks.
Bro Split (Body Part)
A popular way of training from older bodybuilding methods, allowing a lot of work for each individual body part.
- Monday — Chest
- Tuesday — Back
- Wednesday — Shoulders and Traps
- Thursday — Legs and Abs
- Friday — Biceps, Triceps, and Forearms
- Saturday and Sunday — Rest
Because each muscle group is trained only once a week, sessions can pile on volume without leaving anything sore for the next day's target — but a missed session means an entire body part waits a full week to be trained again, which is why this split suits clients who train reliably 5 days a week and struggles for anyone with an unpredictable schedule.
Upper Lower
- Monday — Upper
- Tuesday — Lower
- Wednesday — Rest
- Thursday — Upper
- Friday — Lower
- Saturday and Sunday — Rest
Splitting the body into just two halves means each muscle group gets trained twice a week instead of once, which research consistently favours for muscle growth over a bro split at the same weekly volume — and a single missed session only costs a client one upper or one lower day, not an entire muscle group's week.
Push-Pull-Legs
- Monday — Push (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps)
- Tuesday — Pull (Back, Rear Shoulders, Biceps)
- Wednesday — Legs (Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes)
- Thursday — Push
- Friday — Pull
- Saturday — Legs
- Sunday — Rest
Grouping by movement pattern rather than body part keeps sessions balanced — every push day trains chest, shoulders, and triceps together since they all work in the same pressing direction — and the 6-day repeating cycle gives each muscle group two full training days per week, similar to upper/lower but with more exercises per body part per session.
Example of an Exercise Session with Each Method
Full Body Workouts (FBW) — Recommended Default
A staple way of training in older times. These workouts train all major muscle groups in each session, 2–3 times per week.
- Monday — Full Body
- Tuesday — Rest or Cardio
- Wednesday — Full Body
- Thursday — Rest or Cardio
- Friday — Full Body
- Saturday and Sunday — Rest
Sample 3-Day Full Body Programme
A concrete example makes this easier to apply than the split names alone. Below is a genuine 3-day full body week suitable for a general population client with roughly 45–60 minutes per session, built using the exercise order and category principles from this chapter.
- Day A — Goblet Squat 3x8, Bench Press 3x8, One-Arm Dumbbell Row 3x10 (each side), Plank 3x30s hold
- Day B — Romanian Deadlift 3x8, Push-Up 3x10, Lat Pulldown 3x10, Reverse Crunch 3x12
- Day C — Front Squat 3x6, Overhead Press 3x8, Inverted Row 3x10, Side Raise (core) 3x10 each side
Notice the pattern: every session includes a squat-or-hinge movement, a push, and a pull, in that heavier-to-lighter order discussed under Exercise Order — never three isolation exercises in a row with no compound lift to anchor the session.
Designing for Different Goals
- For Strength — more rest time, heavier weights, lower reps.
- For Fat Loss — shorter rest times, lighter weights and more reps, switching between exercises.
- For Muscle Gain — train to failure when possible; look for the burn; adequate nutrition and sleep are critical.
Progressive Overload
This is the most important principle for long-term progress. Each session must present a challenge that exceeds what the body has previously adapted to. This can be achieved by:
- Increasing the weight lifted.
- Increasing the reps done.
- Improving technique — same load, better range and quality.
- Decreasing rest time — same work in less time.
Keep a small number of indicator lifts consistent over 2–3 weeks (bench press, squat, deadlift). Change accessory work every 2–3 weeks to maintain variety and engagement.
Training Across Populations
The core principles in this book — stacking, bracing, external cues, progressive overload — apply to every client regardless of age, sex, or experience level. What changes between populations is not the principle, but how much intensity, volume, and novelty a given client's body and life circumstances can currently absorb.
Athletes vs. General Population
Would this same approach work for a housewife with a one-year-old child, or a busy CEO who shifted three meetings to make time for training? The answer is no. More stress = less potential recovery = less intense workout required.
- Recovery = Diet + Movement + Sleep + Relationships + Environment.
- The last thing a sleep-deprived professional needs is a high-intensity session. Many people want workouts to feel manageable some days — read the client, not just the programme.
Males vs. Females
With a sound programme, training principles apply equally to both sexes. Two differences are commonly found:
- Men tend to be able to increase weights quicker than women — women generally need more time at a given weight before advancing.
- Regarding the menstrual cycle — ask how she feels, whether she wants to train hard, and adapt accordingly. Women react differently and require an individualised approach.
Children and Adolescents
- Kids below 8 are better off just left to play with guidance.
- Kids below 16 should not lift loads below 6RM as their bones are still growing.
- Kids over 16 can do most of what adults can, though being cautious with very heavy loads.
Older Adults
The training of adults and elderly is — contrary to popular belief — also essentially the same as for any other population. The adjustments are:
- Reduce intensity (how heavy they lift).
- Reduce volume (total reps done).
- Reduce frequency (how many times per week they train hard).
Slow tempo training and isometrics are very useful here as they build strength with minimal injury risk.
As long as a person trains hard, recovers well, and trains consistently, they will get results. The principles in this book are like having a car — you could technically walk everywhere, but why would you when a vehicle makes the journey easier and faster?
A simple but effective way of understanding health is to use Paul Chek's 1-2-3-4 system. It reminds coaches that bodies do not exist in a vacuum — they are embedded within a life, a purpose, and a set of daily choices that either build health or deplete it.