My Strength Training Framework

I have changed my view on fitness over time. I used to think the main question was which programme to run. Now I think the main question is whether the whole system is sustainable.

Training is one part of that system. Food is another. Sleep, recovery, scheduling, fasting, steps, and boredom are all part of it too. If any one part becomes too clever, the system breaks.

This is the framework that currently works for me: alternate-day fasting, a six-day push/pull/legs split, roughly one hour of lifting, 15 minutes of cardio, and Sunday as a full rest day. It is not the only way to train. It is the version that fits my constraints and gives me enough structure to keep showing up.

The starting point#

When I started, I was 21 and very obese. I had not exercised with any consistency since high school. I could not do a pull-up. I had not run a kilometre in years. My max bench press was 60kg and my max squat was 80kg. That was the baseline.

That baseline matters because it changed how I think about training. I do not see fitness as a personality trait. I see it as infrastructure. You build the system, maintain it, and let it compound.

The body responds to inputs. Load, protein, calories, sleep, recovery, and time. Motivation helps for a week. Structure works for years.

The framework#

There are four pieces that matter most:

1. Progressive overload. The training stress has to increase over time.
2. Nutrition control. Calories and protein decide whether the work shows up on the body.
3. Recovery. The body has to adapt to the stress rather than just survive it.
4. Consistency. The system has to be repeatable on ordinary weeks, not just ideal ones.

Everything else is secondary. Exercise selection matters, but not as much as showing up. Meal timing matters, but not as much as the weekly calorie balance. Supplements matter least of all.

What the research says#

The broad research picture is not complicated.

For muscle and strength, resistance training needs progressive overload and enough weekly volume. Most people grow well with hard sets taken close to failure, repeated consistently, with enough protein to support adaptation.

For fat loss, the rule is even simpler: a calorie deficit has to exist over time. Fasting is not magic. It is a tool for creating structure around eating. It works when it makes the deficit easier to maintain. It fails when it turns into compensation, bingeing, poor sleep, or bad training.

For conditioning, cardio does not automatically kill strength gains. The interference effect is real in extreme cases, but most people are nowhere near that threshold. A small amount of cardio improves work capacity, heart health, and recovery without ruining lifting progress.

The useful conclusion is this: build a system that controls calories, keeps protein high, trains the main movement patterns, and leaves enough recovery to repeat it.

What I tested#

The current structure is simple.

Day	Training	Cardio	Food structure
Monday	Push	15 minutes	Fast or feed depending on cycle
Tuesday	Pull	15 minutes	Fast or feed depending on cycle
Wednesday	Legs	15 minutes	Fast or feed depending on cycle
Thursday	Push	15 minutes	Fast or feed depending on cycle
Friday	Pull	15 minutes	Fast or feed depending on cycle
Saturday	Legs	15 minutes	Fast or feed depending on cycle
Sunday	Rest	Optional walking	Normal, controlled eating

The gym session is built around roughly one hour of lifting. After that, I do 15 minutes of cardio. Sunday is not a secret seventh training day. It is a rest day.

The training split is push/pull/legs, repeated twice a week:

• Push: Bench press or incline press, overhead press, lateral raises, dips or machine press, triceps work.
• Pull: Pull-ups or pulldowns, rows, deadlift or hip hinge variation, face pulls, biceps work.
• Legs: Squat or leg press, Romanian deadlift, lunges or split squats, hamstring curls, calves, abs.

Each compound lift gets tracked. Each accessory has a target rep range. If I hit the top of the range with decent form, I increase load the next time. If form breaks, I keep the weight the same.

The fasting protocol is alternate-day fasting. The point is not purity. The point is structure. On fasting days, the priority is keeping the day simple, staying hydrated, and not turning the next feeding day into a reward ceremony. On feeding days, the priority is protein, vegetables, and enough carbohydrates to train properly.

Progressive overload, properly understood#

Progressive overload does not mean adding weight every session. It means increasing training stress over time in the dimension that makes sense.

• Load: More weight on the bar or machine.
• Volume: More reps or sets at the same load.
• Density: Similar work done in less time.
• Control: Cleaner reps, better pauses, better range of motion.

For compound lifts, load is the cleanest metric. For accessories, reps and control matter more. A badly performed heavier set is not progress. It is just a louder way to accumulate fatigue.

The spreadsheet matters here. If the numbers are not written down, memory will lie. The body is noisy. The log is the feedback system.

Recovery is the constraint#

Six days a week sounds aggressive, but the limiting factor is not the number of gym visits. The limiting factor is recovery.

The recovery system has five parts:

1. Sleep. If sleep collapses, the programme stops working.
2. Protein. Vegetarian eating makes this more deliberate. It does not make it impossible.
3. Calories. Fasting helps with the deficit, but training still needs fuel across the week.
4. Sunday rest. One complete rest day keeps the system from becoming a grind.
5. Deloads. When performance drops across multiple sessions, volume needs to come down.

Alternate-day fasting adds another recovery variable. Some sessions will feel different depending on whether I am training fasted or fed. That is acceptable. The system does not need every workout to feel perfect. It needs the weekly pattern to hold.

What happened#

The biggest benefit was not novelty. It was clarity.

Six training days removed decision-making. I do not ask what to do in the gym. The day tells me. Push, pull, legs, repeat. The one-hour lifting limit keeps the session focused. The 15 minutes of cardio makes conditioning non-negotiable without letting it take over the programme.

Alternate-day fasting gave the food system a boundary. Instead of negotiating every meal, the day has a structure. That matters because fat loss is mostly a compliance problem. The best diet is not the most elegant one. It is the one that reduces bad decisions on normal days.

The Sunday rest day became more important than I expected. It creates a weekly reset. It also prevents the identity trap of thinking more training is always better. More is better only when recovery can pay for it.

What I changed my mind about#

I changed my mind on three things.

1. Cardio belongs in the system. I used to treat cardio as optional. Now I think 15 minutes after lifting is a useful minimum. It improves work capacity and keeps the heart from becoming the neglected part of fitness.
2. Fasting is a tool, not a virtue. Alternate-day fasting works when it makes eating simpler. It is not morally superior to normal calorie tracking.
3. A six-day split can be sustainable if the boundaries are clear. The problem is not frequency. The problem is uncontrolled volume, poor sleep, and pretending recovery does not matter.

The boring habits#

The habits that matter are not impressive.

1. Track lifts.
2. Keep protein high.
3. Respect Sunday rest.
4. Do the 15 minutes of cardio.
5. Do not turn fasting into compensation.
6. Sleep enough to make the next session useful.

This is not a motivational framework. It is an operating system. The point is to reduce negotiation and make the correct behaviour easier to repeat.

The conclusion#

The best fitness system is the one that survives contact with real life.

For me, that currently means alternate-day fasting, six days of push/pull/legs, one hour of lifting, 15 minutes of cardio, and Sunday rest. It is structured enough to remove decision fatigue and flexible enough to keep running.

Five years from now, the exact exercises may change. The principle will not. Build the system, maintain it, and let the compounding do the work.