Phase 2 | DELOAD Forge| Week 4 Day 4| Upper Body + Core

Week 4: Deload & Reset 🎉 You’ve earned this! This week we’re scaling back to week 1 loads and reducing sets to let your muscles and nervous system fully recover. If you feel you really need it, drop all heavy sets to 70% of your 1RM. Think of it as strategic rest that sets you up for an energized phase 3, athleticism and power! Today’s session targets your entire upper body from bodyweight strength to barbell lifts, finishing strong with a burnout to challenge your muscles and endurance! 👉🏽 Phase 2: Strength & Growth Overview: • 4 weeks of strength-focused training with hypertrophy & endurance elements • Rep ranges 3-12, with compound lifts maxing at 7 reps for strength focus • REST increases and is IMPORTANT for your strength compound sets • Same 5-day structure: 2 Lower, 2 Upper, 1 full body • Your main lifts remain: Squat, Deadlift, Bench, Overhead Press, Pull-ups/Chinups • Blended approach: strength as the priority, growth as the foundation 👉🏽👉🏽RIR (Reps in Reserve) Guide: • 3-4 reps (87-95% 1RM): 0-1 RIR (maximum strength) • 5-6 reps (80-85% 1RM): 1-2 RIR (strength focus) • 7-8 reps (75-80% 1RM): 1-2 RIR (strength-hypertrophy) • 9-12 reps (70-75% 1RM): 2-3 RIR (hypertrophy focus) 👏🏼👏🏼Critical for Success: Your last rep should be extremely challenging with only 1-2 reps left in reserve for most exercises. If you don’t have appropriate weights to challenge yourself and reach that RIR threshold, slow down your tempo and increase reps to achieve the same intensity. The challenge must be there for strength gains. Ready to discover how strong you can become? Let’s forge ahead. Note: I’s crucial to rest 2-3 minutes between sets to let your nervous system fully recover. While it might feel like you’re not working hard enough during these rest periods, adequate recovery is essential for maintaining maximum effort and lifting the heaviest weight possible in each set. Rushing through sets without proper rest will actually limit your strength gains and reduce the weight you can handle.