3 questions

You: "How many reps will we do?"

Trainer: "We'll stick with 10, 12, 15 or 20 per set."

Too many trainers think there is some magic number of reps, and they'll do the same number with every client every workout. But reps need to vary over time to ensure progress.

You: "How should I be eating?"

Trainer: "You need to start taking this …"

There are as many opinions on diet as there are trainers themselves, but if yours immediately pushes specific products on you, he's got a hidden agenda.

You: "Can you show me a lower trap exercise?"

Trainer: "Sure, this is a shrug …"

A bad trainer won't know what the lower traps are, even though they're essential for maintaining long-term shoulder health.

Saying you're a "hard-gainer" is a cop-out. You can gain muscle if you eat more and recover better, and we'll bet anything it's the lack of those two things that holds you back.

These workouts provided by Ben Bruno, a strength coach in North Andover, MA, will send you on your way.

Train Better, Not Harder

You can stimulate muscle growth with very few exercises as long as they're done with heavy weight and they activate as many muscle fibers as possible. The workouts here have only four moves per session, but they'll be anything but easy.

If you're the type who's used to light circuits or bodybuilding routines that try to isolate every muscle, this is just what you need to grow.

Rest

Getting eight hours of sleep per night is crucial for growth-hormone release. "A nap every day in addition is even better if you can get it," Bruno adds.

In between workouts, get massages or use a foam roller to work out knots in your muscles and improve blood flow. Making these part of your routine enhances recovery.

Eat A Lot

Aim for a gram of protein per pound of your body weight every day. So if you weigh 180 pounds, eat 180 grams. Take in starchy carbs like potatoes, rice, and oats; and snack on high-calorie (but healthy) foods like nuts, seeds, and other sources of good fats.

If you don't have the time or energy to commit to anything else, just remember to eat a lot of food every day.

Once a week, weigh yourself in the morning after you've used the toilet and before you eat or drink anything. You should gain about a pound per week. (If you don't, you're not eating enough.)

Keep A Log

This program's main focus is to increase strength, so "record all your numbers," Bruno says. Every week, strive to improve by adding more weight or more reps.

As your strength goes up, muscle size will always follow.

After 1 Month

You should have added 15-20 pounds to the squat and deadlift and 10-15 pounds to the bench press. You should've also gained three or more pounds of body weight. If you haven't, consider adding more calories to your diet.

Day 1

Directions

• Frequency: Perform each workout (Day 1, 2, and 3) once per week, resting at least a day between each session.
• Time Needed: 60 min.
• How To Do It: Complete all the sets for one exercise before moving on to the next.

Exercise 1. Deadlift

Stand with your feet about hip-width apart. Bend down and grab the bar so your hands are just outside your knees. Keeping your lower back in its natural arch, drop your hips, and drive your heels into the floor.

Pull the bar up along your shins until you're standing with hips fully extended and the bar is in front of your thighs.

Increase the weight each set until you hit your five-rep max on your fourth (final) set. Do not go to failure.

Exercise 2. Chin-up

Hang from a chin-up bar with an underhand grip, hands shoulder-width apart. Pull yourself up until your chest is above the bar.

Perform three sets of five reps and then one set of as many as possible.

If you can do three sets of five with your bodyweight, add weight with a belt.

Exercise 3. Dumbbell Floor Press

Lie on the floor with a dumbbell in each hand, holding the weights over your chest. With palms facing, lower the weights down until your triceps touch the floor.

Pause for a moment then press the dumbbells back up.

Exercise 4. Ab-Wheel Rollout

Hold the handles of an ab wheel and kneel down on the floor behind it. Keeping your abs braced and your torso straight, roll the wheel forward as far as you can before you feel your lower back is about to sag.

Pull yourself back to the starting position.

Day 2

Exercise 1. Bulgarian Split Squat

Hold a heavy dumbbell at chest level or two dumbbells at your sides.

Exercise 2. Barbell Bench Press

Hold the bar with an overhand, outside-shoulder width grip. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and arch your back.

Take the bar out of the rack, lower it to just below your sternum, then push your feet hard into the floor to help you press the weight up.

Exercise 3. Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row

Perform three sets of six, then reduce the load by 20% and complete one set of 20 reps per side.

Exercise 4. Off Bench Side Plank

Lie sideways across a bench and hook your feet under a dumbbell rack or other sturdy object. Only your hips should be supported by the bench. Hold the position.

Day 3

Exercise 1. Front Squat

Set a barbell on a power rack at shoulder height. Grab the bar with your hands at shoulder width and raise your elbows in front of the bar until your upper arms are parallel to the floor.

Take the bar out of the rack, letting it rest on your fingertips and sternum—as long as your elbows stay up, you'll be able to balance the bar.

Squat as low as you can without losing the arch in your lower back.

Exercise 2. Inverted Row

Set a barbell in a power rack (or use a Smith machine) at about hip height. Lie underneath it and grab it with hands about shoulder-width apart.

Hang from the bar so your body forms a straight line. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull yourself up until your sternum touches the bar.

Exercise 3. Single-Leg Hip Thrust

Rest your upper back on one side of a bench and sit on the floor. Extend one leg in front of you and plant the other close to your butt.

Drive your foot into the floor and extend your hips up until your body is parallel to the floor.

Exercise 4. Push-up