Introduction
When was the last time you skipped a session on a genetic gift spot? Don’t we always seem to push ourselves harder through more sets and reps with a greater intensity when focusing on these muscles?
It’s important to recognise that we inevitably compromise our proportions as a natural consequence to this favouritism shown in the gym. So here’s how to address our weaknesses and bring them up to speed with the rest of our physique!
Essentially Priority Training works by prioritising our weaknesses by addressing them first in priority while we are fresher and more concentrated.
We can adopt this approach in 2 ways:
1) Look to create a better balance within a set muscle group.
2) Look to create a better balance between all muscle groups.
Addressing the first point can be a little tricky, we need to analyse each muscle group on its own merits, please see below for a few common examples of how to identify and address flaws within the proportions of our major muscle groups:
Chest
Squeeze your chest in, look to the side in a mirror – is the upper chest lagging a little? If so prioritise incline movements within your chest routine.
Back
Do a “Front Lat Spread” in front of a mirror. Is you back lacking width, or depth? If width prioritise “pull down” movements for depth/thickness focus on “pull in” type movements and deadlifts (see article on this).
Shoulders
Stand to the side of mirror, the top of the shoulder should be perfectly horizontal. Be honest, are your rear and side deltoids in the shadow of your front deltoids? Simply train them in order of weakness.
Legs
Again stand to the side of the mirror and flex your legs from several angles, what’s lagging? Are you quad heavy with not the best calves in the world? Perhaps your hamstrings are somewhere in-between? Then simply train calves first, followed by hamstrings and finish off on quads.
Arms and Abs
Pretty much self explanatory – seek to address the weaker, less developed muscle first. This may mean you train triceps before biceps and conduct leg raises before crunches –either/or you’re ironing out discrepancies within your muscles.
Addressing the second point is somewhat easier, you just need to be open minded and prepared to juggle your schedule a little. Again the answer is very simple, seek to address your weaker muscle groups using the above approach when you’re at your freshest!
Application
Say you train Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri and take the weekend off. You are at your freshest on Monday (after 2 days rest) and Thursday (after 1 day rest). After a bit of self-critical analysis you may conclude that your legs really are your number 1 priority and that your back has fallen behind the rest of your upper body development too. You can live with the rest of your body for now and your more than happy with your chest (isn’t it funny how we always seem to train chest on a Monday?)
So, simply train legs on the Monday and back on the Thursday – the rest you can factor in according to your needs/requirements being prepared to change again when needs be.
After years of training, significant divides in development can occur. So use Priority Training to counter this, we can all benefit from this principle at various times.
For a detailed overview of how Enclomiphene elevates testosterone without suppressing fertility, see our analysis on how much Enclomiphene raises testosterone.
Disclaimer: All exercises on this site are intended for healthy individuals without any present medical conditions. If you are currently experiencing any bone, joint, or musculoskeletal pain, we advise you to consult a licensed health care professional prior to commencing any of the exercises suggested within this site. The author, editor, and publisher specifically disclaim all responsibility and liability for any injury arising from the use and application of the information provided within this site.