Barbell Club 2026
Welcome to Barbell Club – October 2026
Welcome to your October Barbell Club programme. This month we are returning to our whole-body approach workouts. We like this format as it covers a lot of bases and gets us working the whole body, which might sound a bit boring but is great for balance and gets us all doing stuff we might not want to do, but need to do. Our key focus and strapline this month is “progressive overload”.
Progressive overload is 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.
A and B Exercises
We have programmed these as stand-alone exercises, not our normal supersets. We want you to really focus on each movement, work it hard, and lift some good weights. If you want to switch A and B around, please feel free.
C Exercises
For C, we return to our classic superset format with an upper and lower exercise. The numbers are still low, which means our expectations are for you to lift heavy. The numbers aren’t magic, they’re a guide – you shouldn’t be failing the last rep, but you should be pretty close and feeling the burn deep into the muscle you’re using.
D Exercises
Again, a classic superset working smaller muscle groups and your midline. These might seem like an afterthought, but they’re there because we all need to do them… so do them.
Focus on:
- Quality movement
- Feeling the correct muscles working
- Chasing the burn
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.
Day 1 – Whole body approach
Functional Strength
| Exercise | Set | Reps | Tempo | Rest | |
| A | Barbell Back Squat | 5 | 5 | 30X0 | 90 sec |
| B | Barbell Bench Press | 4 | 6 | 21X1 | 90 sec |
| C1 | Barbell Bent-Over Row | 3 | 8 | 2111 | 60 sec |
| C2 | BB Romanian Deadlift | 3 | 8 | 31X1 | 60 sec |
| D1 | DB Walking Lunges | 3 | 10/each leg | 1010 | 45 sec |
| D2 | Weighted Plank | 3 | 30-45 sec | 0 | 45 sec |
Day 2 – Whole body approach
Functional Strength
| Exercise | Set | Reps | Tempo | Rest | |
| A | Barbell Deadlift | 5 | 5 | 30X1 | 90 sec |
| B | Barbell Overhead Press | 4 | 6 | 2010 | 90 sec |
| C1 | DB Single-Arm Row | 3 | 10/side | 2011 | 60 sec |
| C2 | DB Goblet/Front Squat | 3 | 8 | 2020 | 60 sec |
| D1 | DB Bulgarian Split Squat | 3 | 10/each leg | 20X1 | 45 sec |
| D2 | Farmer’s Carry | 3 | 30m | 0 | 45 sec |