transferred into everyday life
situations or fitness pursuits,
where you must move load in
open space.”
Accepting this, however,
doesn’t mean machines aren’t
worth their weight in plates.
Instead, we can slot a machine
into the perfect point in a
workout—when those stabilizers
are already fatigued, but your
prime mover muscle has a few
more reps in the tank that you
need to pump out.
LOCKED IN
In this program, you’ll follow
a specific order within your
body-part workouts to take
advantage of each of the three
main training tools, organizing
exercises into groups of three:
1. You’ll start with a barbell
move, thus handling the most
weight while you’re at your
highest energy levels.
Quads, Hamstrings & Calves
EXERCISE
SETS REPS
4 12, 10, 8, 6
3. You’ll finish with a machine,
eliminating the stabilizers from
the equation so you can push
all-out toward momentary failure
of the target muscle within the
relative safety of a machine.
QUADS
Barbell Back Squat
4
Dumbbell Stepup
3
10, 10, 10
3
Hack Squat
4
12, 10, 8, 6
3
HAMSTRINGS
Romanian Deadlift
3
12, 10, 8
3
Seated Leg Curl
3 12, 10, 8
4 15, 12, 10, 8
CALVES
Standing Calf Raise
3
80
FLEX | MARCH ’18
That safety aspect within the
confines of a machine is worth
noting. When doing a hard, heavy
set with a barbell or dumbbells,
approaching muscle failure
can play into your decision to
terminate a set—the last thing you
want to do is lose control or have
your muscles give out with a
heavy load over your head or
chest or on your back.
With a machine, however, that
concern dissipates. While you
still need to pay close attention
to form, you don’t have to worry
about losing control of a weight—
the machine guides you back
smoothly when your strength
gives way. It makes a machine
move a near-perfect finisher
when you’re striving to squeeze
every last rep out of a body part.
THJALL;
2. Next up, you’ll do a dumbbell
exercise, in which your total
resistance will drop but you’ll
be maximizing the stimulus on
both sides of your body.