Level 1

Re-Entry and Recovery

Main Targets:

• Enable yourself to workout for 60 to 90 min. My starting point sometimes was as low as 30min easy workout.

• Prepare muscles, joints and bones for more

Program:

• Use a simple split. The lower your overall possible workout time is, the more comprehensive should the split be (e.g. start with full body). Once you hit 90min and still have energy available, move to upper lower body. finally you go with push, pull legs and up to 4 workouts per week.

• Don’t work up to failure, rather keep several reps in the tank (allow your joints some time to get stronger too)

• Repition range between 12 and 25 depending on exercise.

• Rest between sets of 1 to 2min rather on the lower end (build the ‘muscle endurance’).

• Mostly machine based workout

• General 3 to 6 min warmup sufficient for me (Crosstrainer preferred as lower and upper body get moved)

Personal Comment:

• I use level 1 always after longer routine breaks as reentry. After my surgery in 2022 I worked in Level 1 for probably 3 to 4 month.

• With age I rather have a too long time in level 1 than an unnecessary injury or fatigue issues. My body takes more time to adjust.

Level 2

Hypertrophy

Main Targets:

• Muscular development. Strength and condition follow on the side lines

• Also to be used through dieting

Program:

• Split: push, pull, legs as the go to split. Templates

• Work up to failure in top sets. Additionally use intensity techniques (e.g. drop sets)

• Repetition range 10 to 15 (up to 20 e.g. for shoulders)

• Free hand exercises included

• General 3 to 6 min warmup sufficient for me (Crosstrainer preferred as lower and upper body get moved)

Personal Comment:

• Level 2 is me go to strength level. The different splits (templates) play their role especially to accommodate different time budgets (be that from available time for sport or within my periodization)

• I always move to higher volume / lower weight for reentry or eg. in my seasonal change for summer to winter

Level 3

Maximizing Strength

Main Targets:

• maximizing strength (e.g. going for personal powerlifting bests)

• maximizing muscular performance by the so called conjugate method (this is for me currently under evaluation - hypothesis is that overall best muscular performance could be reached by varying not only by split and exercise selection but on top the type of muscle contraction (fast, max and slow)

Program:

• 3a. Include max effort exercises into regular level 2 framework. E.g. Squad or bench press session.

  • first exercise of a session with rep ranges below 8 towards the top sets (e.g. 2x5, 2x3, 1x1) and after some prep weeks towards the 1 reps maxes

  • Limit to one heavy session per muscle group per week

• 3b. Conjugate Method

  • upper / lower split. Max effort days and dynamic effort days. In the main exercises with a fairly low repetition range (below 5). Repetition sets in the second half of each workout.

  • In winter 2023/24 I started to try this method - so more experiences will follow. The first dynamic effort days have been surprisingly impactful…

  • Example template

• Warmup: workout specific warmup is absolutely beneficial on top of general 3-6 min cross trainer.

Personal Comment:

For me level 3 is only used if I am injury free, healthy and fit and prepared at least by 1-2 months of hypertrophy phase (level 2). Besides the physical intensity I really need to be careful with fatigue of the central nervous system and potential injuries.