Every training story has to start somewhere — mine started with Big Mike at Crunch. If you’ve never had a trainer hand you a structured program and say “just do this, trust me,” you’re missing out on one of the best things that can happen to you in the gym. That’s exactly what happened in May 2024, and it completely changed my relationship with lifting.
The program was a classic Push / Pull / Legs / Arms split — a tried-and-true approach that’s been building bodies for decades. It’s not fancy, it’s not cutting edge, but it works, especially when you’re learning how your body responds to training stimulus.
The Split Breakdown
Four days, four targets. Each muscle group gets dedicated attention, and recovery is built into the structure naturally.
- Day 1 – Push: Chest, shoulders, and triceps. Heavy pressing movements with cable isolation finishers.
- Day 2 – Pull: Back and biceps. Rows, pulldowns, and curls — everything that moves weight toward you.
- Day 3 – Legs: Full lower body. Quads, hamstrings, and calves on one dedicated day.
- Day 4 – Arms: Shoulders, biceps, and triceps isolated. Yes, a dedicated arm day — no apologies.
Around July 2024, we refined the pairing logic slightly — Push became a pure Chest & Triceps day, and Pull tightened into Back & Biceps. The Arms day picked up more shoulder volume with presses and raises. Same skeleton, sharper execution.
Muscle Focus by Day
Day 1 — Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
Push day was built almost entirely on machines early on — Chest Press, Incline Chest Press, Decline Bench, and the Pec Deck / Butterfly. Machines are actually a smart starting point: they lock your movement pattern so you can build strength without having to also manage balance and stabilizer muscles at the same time. We finished with cable triceps work — triceps pushdowns and cable extensions.
Day 2 — Back & Biceps
Pull day was anchored by Lat Pulldowns and Seated Cable Rows — two movements that should be in every back program, period. We also hit Rear Delt Reverse Flys on the machine, which is consistently one of the most skipped muscle groups in beginner programs. Bicep work was cable and dumbbell curls. Check out this guide on lat pulldowns if you want to understand why they’re so effective.
Day 3 — Legs (Quads, Hamstrings & Calves)
Leg day was machine-focused: Leg Press, Leg Extension, Seated Leg Curl, and Standing Calf Raise. No barbell squats yet — which was actually the right call. Learning how your quads and hamstrings feel under load on a machine before adding a barbell to your back is smart programming, not laziness. We added Walking Lunges as a finisher for unilateral work.
Day 4 — Arms (Shoulders, Biceps & Triceps)
The arm day had it all: Shoulder Press Machine, Lateral Raises, Front Raises, and dedicated bicep and tricep work — rope pushdowns, cable extensions, dumbbell curls, and barbell curls. Most advanced lifters drop dedicated arm days, but as a beginner this day built a serious mind-muscle connection that paid off later.
Phase 1 Weight Update
| Workouts | Total Sets | Total Reps | Total Volume Lifted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | 1,002 | 9,778 | 817,571 lbs |
Here’s where the numbers were at by the end of Phase 1 (August–September 2024). These aren’t starting weights — these are where things landed after months of consistent work.
Push / Chest & Triceps
- Chest Press Machine: 110 lbs × 10 reps
- Incline Chest Press Machine: 100 lbs × 10 reps
- Decline Bench (Machine): 110 lbs × 9–10 reps
- Butterfly / Pec Deck: 90–95 lbs × 12 reps
- Triceps Pushdown: 44 lbs × 11–12 reps
- Triceps Extension (Cable): 32.5 lbs × 12 reps
- Standing Calf Raise: 100 lbs × 10 reps
Pull / Back & Biceps
- Lat Pulldown (Cable): 88–99 lbs × 10 reps
- Seated Cable Row: 99 lbs × 10 reps
- Lat Pulldown (Machine): 140 lbs × 10 reps
- Rear Delt Reverse Fly: 70 lbs × 10 reps
- Bicep Curl (Dumbbell): 25–30 lbs × 7–10 reps
- Bicep Curl (Cable): 38.5–45 lbs × 8–10 reps
Legs
- Leg Press: 90 lbs at start → climbing fast
- Leg Extension: 80 lbs × 10 reps
- Seated Leg Curl: 100 lbs × 10 reps
- Standing Calf Raise: 90 lbs × 10 reps
- Walking Lunges (Dumbbell): 25–30 lbs
Arms
- Shoulder Press (Machine): 90–110 lbs × 10 reps
- Lateral Raise (Dumbbell): 15 lbs × 10 reps
- Front Raise (Dumbbell): 15 lbs × 10 reps
- Triceps Rope Pushdown: 49.5 lbs × 10 reps
- Bicep Curl (Dumbbell): 25–30 lbs × 10 reps
- Bicep Curl (Barbell): 45–50 lbs × 10 reps
Solid starting foundation. These numbers set the baseline for everything that followed.
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