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Instructions on How to Get the Most out of the Program

Overview

 

The ShredSmart Training Program is designed to optimize strength and muscles gains for intermediates and advanced-intermediates. 

If you’ve been lifting weights for more than 3 months and made good progress during that time, you can do this program without doing the novice routine first.

This program should be followed for 1-3 years, until you’ve gained most of the muscle mass you can gain naturally.

The Main ShredSmart

 Training Program

(the one you have in the app)

Monday - Chest and Triceps

  • Flat Bench Press - 4 sets of 4-6 reps p
  • Machine Incline Bench Press - 4 sets of 4-6 reps p
  • Seated DB Shoulder Press - 3 sets of 6-10 reps p
  • Skullcrushers - 3 sets of 10 reps
  • Machine Chest Flyes - 3 sets of 12 reps

Tuesday - Back and Biceps

  • Weighted Chins - 4 sets of 4-6 reps p
  • Barbell Rows - 4 sets of 6-8 reps p
  • Barbell Biceps Curls - 3 sets of 10 reps
  • Face Pulls - 3 sets of 15 reps
  • Cable Rows - 3 sets of 8-12 reps p

Thursday - Lower Body

  • Barbell Back Squats - 4 sets of 4-6 reps p
  • Romanian Deadlifts - 4 sets of 4-6 reps p
  • Leg Press - 3 sets of 8-12 reps p
  • Leg Extension - 3 sets of 12 reps
  • Leg Curl - 3 sets of 12 reps
  • Seated Calf Raises - 3 sets of 12 reps

Friday - Upper Body

  • Standing Shoulder Press - 4 sets of 4-6 reps p
  • Lat Pulldowns - 4 sets of 8-12 reps p
  • Incline Bench Press - 3 sets of 8-12 reps p
  • Lateral Raises - 3 sets of 12 reps
  • Cable Triceps Pushdowns - 3 sets of 10 reps
  • Cable Biceps Curls - 3 sets of 10 reps

Each 6-8 weeks you may find you no longer enjoy doing some of the exercises. In that situation, replace them with a similar variation.

Here is the routine again, this time with different exercises.

Important: Replace only the exercises you no longer enjoy doing. Keep those that you make great progress on.

Monday - Chest and Triceps

  • Incline Bench Press - 4 sets of 4-6 reps p
  • DB Flat Bench Press - 4 sets of 4-8 reps p
  • Machine Shoulder Press - 3 sets of 8-12 reps p
  • Cable Triceps Extensions - 3 sets of 10 reps
  • Machine Chest Press - 3 sets of 12 reps

Tuesday - Back and Biceps

  • Weighted Pullups - 4 sets of 4-6 reps p
  • T-Bar Rows - 4 sets of 8-12 reps p
  • DB Biceps Curls - 3 sets of 10 reps
  • Bent-over Flyes - 3 sets of 15 reps
  • Cable Rows - 3 sets of 8-12 reps p

Thursday - Lower Body

  • Front Squats - 4 sets of 4-6 reps p
  • Deadlifts - 4 sets of 4-6 reps p
  • Single Leg Press - 3 sets of 8-12 reps p
  • DB Lunges - 3 sets of 12 reps
  • Glute Ham Raises - 3 sets of 12 reps
  • Standing Calf Raises - 3 sets of 12 reps

Friday - Upper Body

  • Seated DB Shoulder Press - 4 sets of 4-6 reps p
  • Lat Pulldowns different grip - 4 sets of 8-12 reps p
  • DB Incline Bench Press - 3 sets of 8-12 reps p
  • Hanging Lateral Raises - 3 sets of 12 reps
  • DB Triceps Extensions - 3 sets of 10 reps
  • Incline DB Curls - 3 sets of 10 reps

Rest 3 minutes between sets where you use heavy loads (4-6 reps per set). Rest 2 minutes between sets where you use medium loads (5-10 reps). Rest 1 minute between sets where you use light loads (more than 12 reps per set).

How to Progress on Compound Movements Marked with P (for periodization)

 

We’ll be using a periodization model to progress on the compound movements.

For example, here’s how you progress on Flat Bench Press doing 4 sets of 4-6 reps:

 

  • Week 1 - 4 sets of 6
    You choose a weight that allows you to complete 3 sets of 6, without needing a spot and without hitting failure on the last set.
  • Week 2 - 4 sets of 5
    You increase the load by 5 lbs / 2.5 kg and reduce the number of reps by one.
  • Week 3 - 4 sets of 4
    You increase the load by 5 lbs / 2.5 kg and reduce the number of reps by one.
  • Week 4 is a deload week where you intentionally reduce both the load and reps.
  • Week 5 - 4 sets of 6
    In the 5th workout, you go back to 4 x 6 and use a load that’s 5 lbs (2.5kg) heavier than you used in week 1.

 

Here’s how that would look like in a table:

Notes:

For Squats, Deadlifts, and Leg Press, you can increase the load by 10 lbs / 5kg instead of 5 lbs / 2.5kg.

If you’re relatively new to lifting, for bench press and weighted chin-ups you may also be able to increase the load by 10 lbs / 5 kg instead of 5 lbs / 2.5 kg.

When you’re working in a higher rep range, you decrease the reps by 2 instead of 1. For example for cable rows, lat pulldowns, leg press, and incline bench press you can see the rep range is 8-12. You start the cycle with 12 reps, then you go down to 10, then 8, deload and then back to 12.

If you perform the main exercises using dumbbells, the rep range needs to be wider as well. When you’re working with dumbbells, you're actually increasing the weight by a total of 10 lbs (5 per hand) each week. So losing more than one rep per set is to be expected.

In this case, you should use a wider rep range and decrease your reps by 2 when you move up in weight. For example, here’s how you would progress on 3 sets of DB Incline Bench Press:

Progressing with dumbbells is trickier and slower than progressing with barbells. You will most likely not progress as fast as shown in the table above.

You may have to use the same weights two cycles in a row before being strong enough to move up in weight. Just know that's normal.

It usually takes several years to progress to 100 lbs dumbbells for example. Going up by 30-40 lbs per year is much more realistic than going up by 5 pounds per month.

I recommend using barbells instead of dumbbells for the main exercises if possible. Your progress will be faster and more predictable.

 

How to Progress on Isolation Movements and Exercises not Marked with p

 

For these exercises we’ll use a double progression model. For example, let’s say last Friday you did 3 sets of 10 with 80 lbs on biceps curls.

 

Set 1 - 10 reps with 80 lbs / 35 kg

Set 2 - 10 reps with 80 lbs / 35 kg

Set 3 - 10 reps with 80 lbs / 35 kg

 

When you can do the required reps for all sets, increase the weight by 5lbs (2.5kg) the following workout. This will probably make you lose 2 or 3 reps in the last set or two. That’s normal and the goal for the following workout is to add back the reps in those last sets so you can increase the weight again.

 

Next time, you add 5lbs (2.5kg) to all sets.

With the new weight you may do:
Set 1 - 10 reps with 85 lbs / 37.5 kg
Set 2 - 9 reps with 85 lbs / 37.5 kg
Set 3 - 8 reps with 85 lbs / 37.5 kg

 

Next time you do curls you will focus on adding reps to the last sets until you hit 10 again.

You may do:
Set 1 - 10 reps with 85 lbs / 37.5 kg
Set 2 - 10 reps with 85 lbs / 37.5 kg
Set 3 - 9 reps with 85 lbs / 37.5 kg

 

When you hit 3 sets of 10 again, you increase the weight by 5lbs (2.5kg).

Don’t worry if you can’t add reps one workout. You can’t be stronger every single time you hit the gym. Focus on making good progress each month instead of getting frustrated you did not perform well one workout.

Explaining the Periodization Model

 

When you saw the progression model you may have thought “Is this really necessary? Can’t I lift the same weight every time and try to add reps?”

Well, it’s not necessary. But it’s more effective.

In a study by Rhea et al. two group of people trained their bench press and leg press for 12 weeks - one group using a non-periodized progression model and the other an undulating periodized program.

 

Guess what happened?

 

The periodized group made twice the gains even if training volume and average intensity was the same!

Here are the details:

The non-periodized group trained each movement with the same number of sets and reps three times per week. They did 3x8 three times per week for 4 weeks, then 3×6 three times per week for 4 weeks, and then 3×4 three times per week for 4 weeks.

Their Bench Press increased by 14% and their Leg Press by 25% on average.

The undulating periodization group changed the weight and rep range every time they trained. They did 3×8 for each movement one day, 3×6 the next training day, and 3×4 the last training day of each week.  They continued with that pattern for the 12 weeks of the study.

Their Bench Press increased by 28% and their Leg press by 55% on average.

Now, the physiological explanation for why this happened is that periodizing your training reduced the repeated bout effect. Basically, by changing the rep range often your muscles respond more strongly to the training stimulus because it’s new every time.

But this simple explanation cannot fully account for such a big difference in the progress made by the two groups. The advantage of periodization is most likely psychological.

Doing the same workout over and over again becomes boring and stressful.

Imagine that for the next 6 months you had to train the same way every workout - 3 sets of 6. No matter how you felt, you would go in the gym and push as hard as you can to add weight to those 3 sets of 6.

At some point you’d feel mentally exhausted. For example, after a personal record that took a lot of effort you would doubt that you can surpass your previous performance.

Periodizing your training allows you to get excited for each one of your workouts. You’re never doing the same thing and you can always progress in some way.  

By decreasing the number of reps you do you can lift more weight and that makes you excited.  By going back to a higher number of reps, you get excited to see if you can lift more than last month.

Enjoyment and novelty can impact training performance.  If your workout routine seems fresh and challenging, it will seem easier and you’re going to put more effort into it.

In research, progression models that include periodization almost always outperform non-periodized programs. Also, all elite natural powerlifters and bodybuilders use some form of periodization in their training.

 

Why do we Need Deloads?

 

The deload week is a planned decrease in training volume and intensity with the purpose of improving recovery. It allows the fatigue you accumulate over a few weeks of training to dissipate so you can start a fresh training cycle.

 

Each workout you do does two things:

  1. It stimulates your muscles to grow
    and
  2. It creates fatigue

 

Because you train often, the fatigue created by a workout is not allowed to dissipate completely before you do another one. So over the course of a few weeks of training, you slowly accumulate fatigue. And if you let it get too high, it will hurt your performance.

It’s like working a demanding job from Monday to Friday.

Let’s say you go to work on Monday morning with your mental fatigue at 0%. You work all day and when you get home at night your mental fatigue is at 60%.

Luckily if you have a nice dinner, watch a good movie and get a good night’s sleep that mental fatigue goes back down. But not back to 0%. It’s not enough. You did not have enough rest.

Tuesday morning you still have some residual mental fatigue left from Monday. You start your day at 10% fatigue instead of 0%.

After each day of work you accumulate more and more mental fatigue. Tuesday you come home at 70%. Wednesday at 80%. Thursday at 90%. And Friday you come home exhausted at 100% mental fatigue and swear to God you could not work another hour!

But what if you were stubborn and on Saturday morning you wanted to work some more? Would you have good performance? No! You’d be tired and you’d have a very difficult time concentrating.

What you need is leisure time. The weekend is there to allow that mental fatigue to go back down to 0%. Leisure time helps you get ready for another week of productive work.

 

That’s exactly how deloads work as well.

 

They allow the fatigue you accumulate over a few weeks of training to dissipate so you can start another string of productive workouts. In research the role of deloads is explained using the fitness-fatigue model. If you want to learn the technical details and the scientific explanation, check out this post of mine.

Here’s a lesson I learned the hard way:

If you don’t take planned deloads you will be forced to deload anyway in the form of a string of awful workouts.

At some point the fatigue accumulated over a few weeks of training catches up with you and your strength inexplicably goes down.

Don’t view deloads as wasted time. They are “preparation weeks” that guarantee a productive training cycle. Actually, after a deload your strength is usually higher because fatigue no longer masks your true potential.  

 

Summary

  • Periodized models are better than non-periodized models for both hypertrophy and strength.
  • The main benefit of changing the rep range within the week is psychological. Excitement and novelty make you enjoy your training more which makes you put more effort into it.
    Physiologically, changing the rep range within the week helps reduce the repeated bout effect making your muscles more sensitive to a training stimulus.
  • Deloads allow the fatigue you accumulate over a few weeks of training to dissipate so you can start a fresh training cycle.
  • If you don’t take planned deloads you will be forced to deload anyway in the form of a string of awful workouts.