Hey there Muscles,

Last week I made the case that most people work hard in the gym but lack intent behind what they're actually doing. If you haven't read that one, the short version is this: effort without direction is just exercise, and exercise isn't the same thing as training.

So let's say you've got the intent part figured out.

You know you want to build muscle, or get stronger, or bring up a lagging body part. That's a real goal. The next question is one most people skip entirely:

This is where a lot of programs fall apart, and it's not always obvious when it's happening to you...

A Full Program That Goes Nowhere

I see it all the time. Someone wants bigger legs, so their lower body day has goblet squats, some lunges, leg press, a few sets of leg curls, maybe some step-ups, and then conditioning. None of those movements are bad. But when you look at how they're loaded and structured, nothing is actually being pushed hard enough in the right ranges to drive meaningful quad growth. The workout is hard. It just isn't targeted. There's a big difference between those two things.

Most people choose exercises based on what feels difficult or what they've always done, rather than what actually matches the stimulus and adaptation they're after. Every movement in your program should either be directly training the goal or clearly supporting it. If it doesn't do one of those two things, it's taking up space and recovery you could be spending somewhere better.

If the goal is quad growth, your primary movement should load the quads through a full range with real weight and repeatable effort. Hack squats, heel-elevated variations, leg press, a narrow-stance Bulgarian. Your accessories should stack onto that stimulus, not dilute it. One well-chosen accessory that reinforces the same muscles beats three random movements that just add fatigue.

Here's a simple way to think about it. Every exercise in your program should fall into one of two buckets.

1. I's a primary movement that directly trains the adaptation you're chasing, or
2. It's an accessory that supports or reinforces that primary goal.

*** If an exercise doesn't clearly fit into either of those, it's probably just taking up space and recovery capacity you could be spending somewhere better.

This Is What Simple and HIGHLY EFFECTIVE Actually Looks Like

Here's a real example of what intentional selection actually looks like in practice. In 2022 I ran the same quad-focused program for 12 straight weeks and it was one of the best things I've done for my physique. Six total movements. That's it. (get the full program here)​

Monday

• Back Squat: 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps, 1-2 RIR
• Hack Squat: 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps, 0-2 RIR
• Romanian Deadlift: 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps, 1-2 RIR

Wednesday

• Hack Squat: 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps, 0-2 RIR
• Back Squat: 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps, 1-2 RIR
• Seated Hamstring Curl: 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps, 0-2 RIR

Saturday

• Heel-Elevated Belt Squat: 4-6 sets of 12-15 reps, 0-2 RIR
• Lying Hamstring Curl: 4-6 sets of 12-15 reps, 0-2 RIR

Stop Picking Exercises Like You're at a Buffet

The question I'd have you ask for every movement in your next workout is simple: what is this training, and is that what I actually need more of?

If you can answer that clearly, you're already ahead of most people. If you can't, that's not a judgment, it's just information. It means something in the program probably needs to be swapped or cut (or you need to think harder to really come up with WHY).

You don't need a perfectly engineered program to make progress. But you do need each exercise to have a reason for being there. When you start holding your program to that standard, things get clarity, not more complicated. Less randomness, more direction, and usually less total volume with better results.

Next week I'm going to get into execution, because picking the right exercise is only half of it. How you actually perform it is what determines whether you get the stimulus you're training for or just another hard set that doesn't move the needle.

If your current program feels like a mix of things that are hard but aren't clearly pointed toward a specific outcome, that's exactly the kind of thing I help people clean up. Remote coaching, personalized programming template, or even just a program audit to give you clarity on what's working and what isn't. If that sounds useful, reply to this and we can talk through it.

Stay strong, stay durable,

– Mike

P.S. Next week: execution. The right exercise done the wrong way still won't get you where you want to go.

​
​Grab your next program here​

​
​

​
​