Until now. Here, Men's Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. , reworks two workouts for MH followers, fine-tuning both sessions to set both guys on the path towards the gains they want most. Along the way, he has some lessons for anyone and everyone who wants to design their own workouts.

How to Hone Technique: Cut Out Excess Volume!

Gustavo Merino does a full-body workout four days a week. His goal is to gain muscle over the next 2 to 5 years, he says, whilst also maintaining low body fat. But he struggles with his form. Some reps and sets use muscles I dont intend to use, he says.

The Workout

Ebs Take

Youre definitely putting in work, Gustavo, but you may almost be doing too much work. Youre piling up a ton of reps in your training, and this has two shortcomings. First off, all the volume you have in here prevents you from exposing your muscles to the heavy loads that can build strength (and in turn, spur you to greater muscle gains). And youre noticing the other problem: These marathon sets require a ton of mental focus. Lose that and, yes, other muscles do take over.

Just as importantly, the sheer volume in your workout is going to wear you out. By the time you get to your accessory work on biceps and triceps, your central nervous system is very likely shot.

Add in that some of your exercise choices invite a lot of full-body movement (the Pendlay row, for example, has you moving explosively instead of ever earning a sustained back squeeze), and theres plenty of room to feel other muscles taking over. Barbell curls, meanwhile, are a great lead curl, but as the last move in a lengthy workout, when youre fatigued, theyre inviting hip-rocking to cheat.

Ebs Fixes

1. When youre building a full-body workout, focus on body functions, not bodyparts . I love a good bodypart workout as much as the next guy, but doing that for full-body training results in overtraining. So lets get a move that has you pulling, a move that pushes, a move that hinges, and a move that has you squatting, then maybe some arm work, and call it a day. You can train heavier then, building muscle and strength and blasting more fat too.
2. Trim your reps on early exercises . Everything in your workout right now is 10s and 12s, which limits your ability to train heavy. Moving heavy weight early in your workouts will let you build more muscle and strength. Well remove some of the supersets too, so that, again, you can train certain movements heavier.
3. Introduce some tempo and pauses . These will keep you accountable to form, and help you build a stronger mind-muscle connection than piling up reps.

The Revision

EMOM (Set a timer. Complete the assigned work as quickly as possible, with good form, during each minute,then rest until the start of the next minute. Do 3 rounds).

Minute 1: 20 Jump Lunges

Minute 2: 20 Hollow Rocks

Minute 3: 20 Mountain Climbers

Minute 4: 16 Alternating Bench Step-ups