The Back2Basics training regimen doesn’t rely on fancy exercises, supersets, drop sets, or anything else that you’ve probably been bombarded with on polished social media fitness ads.

Instead, it relies on a couple of things:

1. Compound movements (exercises that engage multiple muscle groups)
2. Challenging sets, taken close to failure
3. Significantly longer rest times

“Okay wait, what? Significantly LONGER rest times? What do you mean?! I thought I was supposed to superset two exercises and then rest 30 seconds…”

Yeah, no.

Because intensity is strenuous by nature, it requires more rest times between sets!

By resting more, you will ensure that your performance is sustained from set to set and that will ultimately give you a greater total training volume & training intensity.

Think of it this way – If you do 1 set of 10 repetitions with 100 kg, that would be a volume of 1000 kg (100 kg lifted 10 times).

If you only take a 1-minute rest before your next set, you’ll probably be able to do about eight reps on the second set (100 kg lifted 8 times = 800 kg).

In both sets, you lift a total of 1800 kg… HOWEVER if you rest 2-3 minutes, you’d probably be able to sustain those ten reps on the upcoming sets, so again, that means greater total volume, thus greater total stimulus!

Now let’s have a look at the training regimen.

NOTE: Do a thorough warm-up before going heavy on any of the exercises! Get your heart pumping and mobilize your musculature.

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Rest times
Barbell Squat	Beginners – 3 Intermediate/Advanced – Up to 5	6+ Close to failure	~3 mins
Barbell Bench Press	Beginners – 3 Intermediate/Advanced – Up to 5	6+ Close to failure	~3 mins
Barbell Deadlift	Beginners – 2-3 Intermediate/advanced – Up to 5	5, heavy weight	3 mins
Barbell Overhead Press	Beginners – 2-3 Intermediate/advanced – 4-5	8-10, close to failure	3 mins

Training Goals

The challenge is to take this training regimen and apply the 3 basic principles we talked about.

1. Make it intense.
2. Progressively overload
3. Keep constant tension and good form!

As a beginner, your goal should be to do 6-10 challenging working sets per week on each exercise.

As an intermediate/advanced trainee, your goal is to do 10-15+ quality, challenging working sets per week on each exercise.

NOTE: You should leave 48-96 hours of rest between each separate session to recover fully!

Grocery Shopping Cheat-Sheet

Besides leaving enough time for rest between the separate workouts, you will also need loads of quality food to give the body everything it needs for proper recovery.

So, hey, on your off days, take this grocery cheat sheet and get some quality food in your system!

Nutrient	Omnivore Food Sources	Plant-Based
Protein	Grass-Fed Beef (Meat & Organs) Wild-caught fish/seafood Pasture-raised chicken/eggs Dairy Products	LentilsBeansOther legumesNutsTofuTempeh
Fats	Fatty fish (salmon) Fatty beef (ribeye/top sirloin) Avocados Nuts Olive oil Olives Coconut Cocoa powder	Avocados Nuts Olive oil Olives Cocoa powder Coconut
Carbs	Sweet potatoes Regular potatoes Fruits Starchy vegetables Brown rice	First 3 from the protein column + the 5 foods listed in the omnivore carbs column!

Nutrition Tips

1. Consume a balanced amount of all three macronutrients across all meals, and avoid skipping carbohydrates if you want to perform at your best in each workout! Carbs are the king of high-intensity training.
2. Don’t eat right before a workout – Eat a modest, high-protein meal 2-3 hours before a workout! This will allow you to have plenty of energy for your workout without interfering with the heavy phases of digestion.
3. Don’t be shy of eating plenty at night! Nighttime is the recovery time, and that’s exactly when you should have a king-sized meal! Just make sure not to overeat right before going to bed.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of your level of training, sticking to the basics is always a viable option in the context of improving your body.

We invite you to take this seemingly beginner routine and ramp up the intensity, overload & tension!

Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or even an advanced trainee, such full-body workouts can be vastly effective if used correctly.

Here’s a summary of this challenge!

1. Focus on compound movements.
2. Make your sets challenging!
3. Progressively overload workout to workout.
4. Keep the tension on the muscles, don’t cheat!
5. Rest longer between sets to sustain performance!

Ready to get back to the roots? Let’s go!