How to Build the PERFECT Weekly Workout Plan for Strength, Muscle, Cardio & Athleticism

Key wellness + fitness strategies (weekly plan framework)

1) Use a “structural/neural” foundation (strength + muscle + power)

Strength (bang-for-buck)

• Weekly volume: 4–6 sets per week per bodypart/movement pattern
• Load: >80% of 1RM
• Reps: typically 4–8 reps at ~80% 1RM (varies by person)
• Rest: 2–3 minutes minimum
• Frequency (by training level):
  • Beginners: each major pattern ~2x/week
  • Advanced: each major pattern ~1x/week (still sufficient due to crossover effects)
• Estimating 1RM (no true 1RM test):
  • Pick a load you can do 5–10 reps (closer to 5 is more accurate)
  • Perform to near failure (stop at the rep before failure, then add +1 rep as the estimate)
  • Use the estimated 1RM calculation from that set

Muscle/size (hypertrophy add-on)

• Add 4–6 more sets/week at 60–80% 1RM
• Stay within ~2 reps of failure
• Usually lands around ~8–12 reps for many exercises
• Practical volume balance:
  • ~Half of your work in 4–8 reps (“stable/high load” strength base)
  • ~Half of your work in 8–12 reps (hypertrophy range)

Power + rate of force development (RFD) with very low extra volume

• Goal: improve how fast force is produced (useful for athletes and general fitness)
• Within your existing strength work:
  • Take 1–3 sets of the strength block and raise load slightly to ~85%
  • Emphasize max speed on the concentric, especially from a dead stop
  • Dead-stop style examples:
    • Pin/box squat
    • Dead-stop deadlift
    • Floor press
• Add a small power dose:
  • 1 set/week per major pattern from dead stop at ~85%
  • Or add 3–5 total sets/week of faster work:
    • Light load / variable resistance (<~60% 1RM preferred; e.g., chains/bands)
    • Or ballistic/plyo work (e.g., jump squats, broad jumps)
  • Keep it not-to-failure with long rest

Training order (“neural/structural” sequencing)

• Extensive plyometrics → power → strength → hypertrophy/auxiliaries
• Do power work first so the nervous system is primed

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2) Add metabolic conditioning using the “zone 2 + intervals” stack

Zone 2 (aerobic base; foundational health lever)

• Definition: work below lactate threshold (before LT1/OLA)
• Benefits:
  • Mitochondria + capillary density
  • Heart health (stroke volume via “time to fill”)
  • Mood
• Frequency/volume:
  • ~30 min to 1 hour, 1x/week minimum
  • Often best 2x/week
• Examples:
  • Steady “talkable pace” jog/bike/hike (zone 2 steady state)
  • Jog-walk intervals to prevent HR drift above zone
  • Tempo intervals as an alternative zone 2 method:
    • 5–20 sec hard, ~1 min easy/stop
    • Heart rate held around 120–140 bpm
    • Typically ~20–30 minutes total

Lactate threshold + VO₂max (optional “cherry on top,” ~1x/week-ish)

• VO₂max:
  • Often genetic/age-influenced, but improved with an aerobic base
  • Suggested intensity: ~85–90% HRmax for ~15–20 minutes/week
  • Norwegian 4x4 protocol mentioned as an excellent option
• Lactate threshold:
  • Suggested intensity: about 75–80% HRmax for ~20–30 minutes/week
• Practical recommendation:
  • Because of overlap, do one lactate threshold session and, if desired, add a small VO₂max “finish”
  • If time is limited: skip dedicated VO₂max first (threshold/aerobic base covers a lot)

Higher-intensity options when time is scarce (1 day/week)

• HIT (high-intensity intervals):
  • Usually 4–10 rounds after ~5 min warm-up
  • Example: 1 min hard / 1–2 min rest
  • Time-efficient: ~20 minutes total
  • Strong for aerobic + threshold adaptations
• Speed intervals (all-out short bouts):
  • 10–20 sec near-all-out with longer rests
  • Strong overlap with HIT, plus power/speed/neural benefits
  • If choosing only one, the speaker leans toward speed interval training

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3) Make it fit into a realistic weekly schedule (optimal template)

Core weekly structure

• 2 days/week lifting: full body each time (power/strength/hypertrophy)
• Zone 2: ~1 hour/week steady
• Tempo intervals: additional ~30 minutes/week (optional depending on structure)
• Total time cited: roughly 3–3.5 hours/week

Example placement logic (speaker’s “comprehensive but not endless” approach)

• Mon: weights (power → strength → hypertrophy)
• Tue: zone 2 (steady)
• Wed: speed intervals or HIT/speed interval work
• Thu: weights (different emphasis)
• Fri: tempo intervals + optionally agility / threshold option instead of zone 2
• Sat (optional): agility + speed/intervals if desired

If adding VO₂max/threshold creates tradeoffs

• Either train 6 days/week, or remove/substitute something
• Swap zone 2 vs tempo vs threshold/VO₂max week-to-week using crossover benefits

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4) Mobility: “dose it daily” (and don’t overcomplicate)

• Best baseline: mobility gained naturally through lifting in full ROM
• Two methods:
  • 5-minute mobility routine daily before workouts (recommended if optimizing)
  • Or dedicate a couple days for ~1 hour via Pilates or yoga
• Tradeoff note if mobility is extended:
  • You may need to drop a hard cardio day (e.g., VO₂max/threshold) and reduce zone 2 frequency

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5) Productivity-style mindset: use “minimal effective complexity,” not endless tracking

• The “optimal” week is comprehensive, but the speaker suggests:
  • Consider periodizing by phase (not fine-grained weekly tracking):
    • Run metabolic blocks for a few weeks
    • Run structural/neural blocks for a few weeks
  • If you don’t want phase periodization, the plan is still positioned as a “do-this and you’ll be in great shape” template

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Presenters / sources

• Presenter: Judd (Jeff) Linhardt (former Army Ranger; strength and performance coach)

Referenced / credited concepts or authors

• Louie Simmons (dynamic effort terminology mentioned)
• Joel Jamieson (tempo/interval-style idea referenced)
• Norwegian 4x4 protocol (VO₂max interval method)
• “Paul” / “Pavle” referenced as an advocate for a kettlebell front swing interval approach (name appears auto-captioned as “Pavle/Pavle like”)