July Lift and Read Club

Happy July, friends.

Let's get right to it this month, covering what the training plan is for this month, along with what I've read/been reading the past month.

We will begin with the lifting plan this month, since I imagine that's what most people here care about.

July Lifting Plan: PPL 3X + Shrugs 

I've been really enjoying my PPL routines while focusing on just 3 exercises per session. It's simple. It's flexible. It allows me to train with focus and quality intensity.

But, I decided want to do a little phase of for my traps. But I don't want to add 3 sets of shrugs to just 1 session. Instead, I think it'd be mentally easier and physically more effective to add 1-2 sets of shrugs to the end of each session – switching up shrug variations as necessary to keep it from getting bland. 

The upper traps are a muscle group that, if trained directly, have great growth potential and can really – by themselves – transform the way your physique looks by adding extra mass to the upper back, neck, and shoulder area. It's pretty low hanging fruit, but I've left that fruit unpicked for years now. So I decided July would be a month where I test out this high frequency shrugging idea.

The plan is the same plan I've been doing for most of this year. The difference is, at the end of each session I'll add 1-2 sets of shrugs, aiming for 10-15 reps per set.

Some of my favorite shrug options:

1. Dumbbell or kettlebell shrugs

2. Single arm dumbbell or kettlebell shrugs

3. Inverted row shrugs (inverted row position, not upside down)

4. Cable shrugs

5. Trap bar shrugs

Warm up before each session with 1-2 sets of an ab isolation,glute bridge or clam shells, rear delt flyes

Pull

Ex 1: vertical pull x 3 sets

Ex 2: horizontal pull x 3 sets

Ex 3: bicep isolation x 3 sets

Ex 4: shrug variation x 1-2 sets

Push

Ex 1: horizontal push x 3 sets

Ex 2: vertical push or shoulder isolation (lateral raise or lean-in lateral raise) x 3 sets

Ex 3: tricep isolation x 3 sets 

Ex 4: shrug variation x 1-2 sets

Legs

Ex 1: squat/split squat or lunge x 3 sets

Ex 2: hinge x 3 sets

Ex 3: calf isolation OR secondary squat/lunge exercise x 3 sets

Ex 4: shrug variation x 1-2 sets

My Personal PPL 3X

Warm up before each session with 1-2 sets of an ab isolation,glute bridge or clam shells, rear delt flyes

Pull A

Ex 1: pullups-3x5-10

Ex 2: single arm row or inverted row-3x6-15

Ex 3: incline dumbbell curls, concentration curls, or any other curl-3x6-12

Ex 4: shrug variation-1-2x10-15

Push A 

Ex 1: incline DB bench press, flat DB bench press, pushup variation, or 1 arm bridge press-3x6-12

Ex 2: lateral raise or overhead pres-3x10-15 or 3x6-12

Ex 3: tricep isolation (cable pushdown or skull crushers)-3x8-15

Ex 4: shrug variation-1-2x10-15

Legs A

Ex 1: Bulgarian split squats, standard split squats, or reverse lunges-3x6-12

Ex 2: single leg RDL, single leg hip thrusts, or kettlebell swings-3x6-12

Ex 3: calf raise OR heel elevated squat, reverse lunges, step up to reverse lunges-3x8-15

Ex 4: shrug variation-1-2x10-15

Pull B

Ex 1: pullups-3x5-10

Ex 2: single arm row or inverted row-3x8-15

Ex 3: incline dumbbell curls, concentration curls, or any other curl-3x6-12

Ex 4: shrug variation-1-2x10-15

Push B

Ex 1: kettlebell clean & press, overhead press, or pike pushup-3x5-12

Ex 2: incline dumbbell bench press, flat dumbbell bench press, or pushup variation-3x6-12

Ex 3: tricep isolation (cable pushdown or incline skull crushers)-3x10-15

Ex 4: shrug variation-1-2x10-15

Legs B

Ex 1: Bulgarian split squats, box step ups, or reverse lunges-3x6-12

Ex 2: single leg RDL, single leg hip thrusts, or kettlebell swings-3x6-12

Ex 3: calf raise OR heel elevated squat, reverse lunges, step ups-3x8-15

Ex 4: shrug variation-1-2x10-15

I'm interested to see what changes this little wrinkle (which only takes 1-3 extra minutes each session) adds to my physique by the end of summer.

Book Club

I've spent much of the past 18 months reading pretty long books, so I'm intentionally going through a period where I'm reading a bunch of shorter fiction novels.

Last month I read my first Charles Bukowski book – which I believe was his first novel – "Post Office."

What a hoot.

Now I'm reading "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. I've actually finished that very short novel, but the copy I have includes 5 short stories, together called, "Tales of Unrest" which are a collection of stories in which Conrad explores the nature of the soul and man's psychological malaise.

Lastly, I'll begin reading Christian Mihai's short novel, "The Green Light." Mihai is a Romanian indie author and I've always enjoyed his short stories from his blog and other quick, smart novels he's written. I am looking forward to this book, which I believe is written to be somewhat of a sequel to F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Great Gatsby." Which seems like an...interesting idea. 

I'm enjoying these shorter books for now, as a break before I begin tackling some more of the longer fictions I have waiting on my book shelf.

That's all I've got. Pretty straightforward.

Have a great month.