WELCOME TO BARBELL CLUB – JULY 2026

July is here, and it’s hot!

For many people, that means holidays are on the horizon. In our book, that’s even more reason to focus on getting stronger, building quality muscle, and working towards those physique and performance goals.

This training block will run for 6 weeks, with a clear focus on improving your numbers and progressively increasing your strength in a structured manner.

WHY WHOLE-BODY TRAINING?

Instead of splitting the body into separate days (think “Leg Day” and “Upper Body Day”), we train the whole body during every session, although each workout has a slightly different emphasis.

Training this way means each muscle group is worked multiple times per week, which is ideal for:

• Building and maintaining muscle
• Increasing strength
• Boosting metabolism
• Improving overall fitness and body composition

Consistency, combined with controlled intensity, is the key to getting results.

THE STRUCTURE

Each workout includes slight variations, combining:

• Lower-body push and upper-body pull movements
• Lower-body pull and upper-body push movements
• Push and pull exercises
• Giant sets and supersets to keep training efficient (and a little spicy)

A EXERCISES

These are your primary strength lifts and the foundation of the programme.

Each session includes an A1 and A2 exercise. These are heavy compound movements designed to build maximum strength.

Weeks 1-2

• 5-7 reps
• Approximately 80%+ of your 1RM

Weeks 3-4

• 3-5 reps
• Approximately 85-90% of your 1RM

Weeks 5-6

• 1-3 reps
• Approximately 92.5-100% of your 1RM

The goal is to progressively increase the load throughout the block while maintaining excellent technique and control.

B EXERCISES

The B section consists of a giant set of four exercises, alternating between upper- and lower-body movements.

Pay attention to the prescribed rep ranges.

Weeks 1-2

• Work towards the higher end of the rep range.

Weeks 3-4

• Reduce reps slightly while increasing the load.

Weeks 5-6

• Continue increasing the load while working at the lower end of the rep range.

This is called PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD — the key driver of strength and muscle development.

If you’re comfortably completing all reps every week, speak to your coach. It may be time to increase the weight, improve your focus on the working muscles, or increase overall training intensity.

C EXERCISES

The C section is your finisher.

These are typically simple, single-joint exercises performed for higher repetitions to maximise muscle fatigue and stimulate additional growth.

Focus on:

• Quality movement
• Feeling the correct muscles working
• Chasing the burn

Don’t skip these exercises — they play an important role in the overall programme.

THE GOLDEN RULES

• Prioritise technique overweight
• Warm-up sets are not working sets
• Working sets should be completed at the prescribed percentages
• Stick to the prescribed tempo
• Control every repetition
• Focus on the muscles you’re training
• Respect the rest periods
• Work hard… and maybe make a friend along the way

FINAL WORD

No fluff.

No frills.

No circus tricks.

Just solid, focused training performed with intent and intensity.

Then…

Come back and do it again.