how to autoregulate your training like a boss
By: Fotis Chatzinicolaou
Tags: Bodybuilding, Training, Mens Health, Fitness Tips, Smart

Hey omorfe,

When life gets in the way, I often decide to not write anything to my email list. In other words, I listen to my mind and act accordingly.

Interestingly enough, today’s topic is about listening to your body. Aka autoregulation. It’s not something that should worry newbies, but if you have some experience lifting, you can use the concept to your advantage.

By autoregulation I mean listening to your body and adjusting your training to the signals you receive.

The most obvious way to use autoregulation is when an exercises hurts a joint. If there’s pain, you could immediately switch to another exercise that doesn’t hurt. As long as it’s similar to the first exercise, you’re good.

But you can use autoregulation to adjust your training on the spot. In fact, it’s something I’ll be using moving forward. There’s a lil bit of chaos in my day to day life and I need to be flexible with my training.

So I’m gonna explain how I’ll do things.

For starters, my days have a template. They don’t have exercises that are set in stone. Here is the template from my last workout:

A1) Chest exercise

A2) Biceps exercise

B1) Back exercises

B2) Triceps exercise

C) Shoulders exercise

And here’s what I ended up doing:

A1) High incline db press

A2) Dumbell curls

B1) Seated cable row

B2) Cable tricep pulldown

C) Dumbbell shrugs

But since I had the structure in mind, I could do a completely different workout like this:

A1) Weighted push ups

A2) Hammer curls

B1) Wide grip lat pulldown

B2) Overhead tricep dumbbell extension

C) Dumbbell lateral throws

The exercise selection doesn’t matter that much, as long as you follow the structure. This lets me adjust my workout on the fly and still hit most of my body parts.

If you wonder why I didn’t do any leg exercises that day, it’s simple: I was out hitting on girls (hey, we’re all men here) and after a few hours walking, my legs and feet felt fried. I could have done some light squats or back extensions along with shoulders, but chose to not do so.

But exercise selection is one way to autoregulate your training.

For example, I was feeling a bit “off” that day. Not exactly tired, but I had some trouble getting in the zone.

So instead of going high intensity, I decided to go for volume. I did 4 sets per exercise but I stayed 3–5 reps away from failure. This might contradict a few things you’ve read from me (doing 1–3 sets per exercise and staying only 1–2 reps from failure) but you have to remember, omorfe, context tramples all.

Yes, 1–3 sets/exercise and staying 1–2 reps away from failure are solid suggestions.

But for your Greek buddy, at that given moment, given his energy, doing 4 sets and leaving 3–5 reps in the tank, felt much better. I finished the workout, was pumped, and invigorated, not dead.

All because I listened to my body.

Again, autoregulation is not something you need to do if you’re a noob. But it has lots of value if you’re experienced.

I’ve been training for years and know how my body responds.

Plus, I don’t have competitive goals. I’m perfectly happy having a top 1%-10% physique and impressing most of the girls I sleep with (not because I’m amazing, but because 90%-99% of men don’t take care of their bodies)

For those goals, my system works beautifully.

Anyway, that’s all for today.

For more tips and strategies on looking great naked without turning fitness into a full-time job, grab my one sentence muscle building plan at:

http://grecianman.com/

Your Greek buddy,

Fotis Chatzinicolaou