Glad to hear David! Wishing you all kinds of gains, and keep me updated with your progress :)

I made the mistake of programming my volume day with way too much volume and I couldn't complete the entire workout. What should be the rep ranges for volume days for novices?

Hey alex, Ive recently made some good beginner gains on your novice program (thanks for that and its free too) and noticed that my neck seems kinda small... AT first I was skeptical about your whole philosophy about peripheral size and I must say it is true. After taking progress pics I found my small neck completely destroyed my physique. I am a bit awkward so I wont train my neck at the gym (a problem to fix but for another day) anyway, I would like to train my neck at home and ive seen your vids about this. I have a pair of 5 lbs, 10 lbs and 15 lbs dumbbells. Since I wont get to a two plate neck curl, do you think that progressively overloading up to 100 reps of 15 lbs (maybe 30 lbs if i tape them together but probably not) neck curls will give a decent sized neck for my frame (6'3, 215 lbs atm)? I have a 15.5" neck measured above the adams apple cold and not flexing. Thanks for reading and replying in advance

Hello David,

On page 39 the set/rep ranges for volume days are discussed. I would cap the sets at 5, and reps no higher than 20-30. Ideally it should be very basic, a classic 3x8-12 or 5x10 works great. Hope this helps!

Hey swattersquatter8,

You will absolutely experience neck gains if you're repping 15lbs for 100. I can see your neck surpassng 15.5 inches, likely reaching 16.5. However, you may need more weight at some point. It may be in your best interest to purchase additional weights or even use bands. I would strongly recommend this for maximizing neck potential. At any rate, great move on doing the neck training now. Over time it will look incredible :)

Hey Alex, do you know why powerlifters use upper/lower templates instead of full body?

Hello BlackAcid,

Many prefer not to do lower body training + bench press in the same session and upper/lowers are very effective for powerlifting/athletic purposes. That said, not all of them run upper/lowers. Many have used full body with great success, or even dedicating one day to a big lift (bench day, squat day, deadlift day, etc). Some even do the big 3 at a high frequency. Lots of programs work my friend.

Why does it seem like when I eat around 1,000-1,500 calories, I seem to lose weight but when I start to eat around 2,000 or more calories I can't seem to lose weight?

Are you properly tracking your calories? It is 100% true that you will lose weight eating 1000-1500 calories, many will lose at 2000 and slightly more as well. I would recommend you weigh out your foods and possibly using a tracking app to ensure that you're actually consuming what you say you are. In a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. If you're not in a deficit, you maintain. Your job is to find out what your TDEE is.

Hey Alex, I got a few questions :

1) If I run NE as a novice, do I program squat and deadlift both on intensity and volume day?
2) Is it fine to use reverse lunge as main leg movement? Is it a good compound and a safe exercise? Do you know exercises that will carry over to reverse lunge?
3) Is it fine for the upper body to only do OHP, chin-ups, facepull/reverse flyes/lateral raises on intensity and volume day + incline push-ups everyday. I had great growth in my chest with push-ups everyday last month and I want to keep on and I want to focus on shoulders in the gym.
4) Do you keep your weekly volume the same year round? Wouldn't it be beneficial to have higher volume blocks if the goal is hypertrophy?
5) I know you had great success with recomping and I know you still say that bulking is superior. I just love the idea of recomping and I wanted to hear your thought of recomping and staying 10% body fat year round.

Hey mikeying,

Thanks for your questions, and allow me to help you out :)

1) Wouldn't be a bad idea. You could do 3x5 squat, then 1x5 deadlift right after for example. Alternating the push/pull movements similar to the novice program is also good for this.

2) You can definitely do that, but don't max out on it. As far as carryover to the lunge, any unilateral leg exercise will help. Dumbbell lunge, barbell, reverse lunge, bulgarian split squat, walking lunge, etc

3) Yup you can totally do that, this is pretty much what NE was originally designed for-vertical presses. And the chins are understandable especially if you're emphasizing deadlifts.

4) You can definitely do that, say doing 3x1 every intensity day. That said, different blocks can be used. I often do 6x6,8x8, and 10x10 for example. You can increase the volume, just pay attention to recovery.

5) Try it out! NE is great for recovery and as a novice you can likely get away with it.

Hope this helps brother.

 Would u recommend a novice to do ur NE/Novice Program during a slow cut (losing 1lb per week) or lean bulk (200 kcal surplus) at 25% BF (15 yo, 5'10, around 190-200lbs)

I want the bear mode physique but im a bit higher than the recommended BF %

Hey Alex, I have been running NE for a month now since I reached the intermediate standarts for your novice program. I can do 220lbx5 bench, 40lb+185lb bodyweigth chin upx5, 215x5 Pendlay row and 175lb strict OHP for 1RM, however my arms are extremely small. 13.2 inches relaxed and 14.25 inches flexed at around 20% bf. I feel like the novice program did not have enough arm volume. Will NE guarantee bigger arms or should I incorporate more arm work on off days? What do you suggest? btw making crazy strength gainz on NE will send you pics once I get more yoked.

Thanks for your time.

What would you recommend to increase the squat while running Naturally Enhanced.

Can you give me some examples?

Hey Vishnu,

As a 15 year old being around 25% bodyfat, I wouldn't recommend a slow cut. Eat at maintenance and you should be able to gain muscle without problems given the novice stage and higher bodyfat. You'll also look leaner automatically as you gain more size.

Hey Gevorg,

Sounds like you're torso dominant just like me. If you have 14.25 inch flexed arms despite those numbers, that confirms it. And I'll be honest, NE is not an upper arms specialization program even though it will help (Especially volume days). In your case, I'd absolutely recommend higher volume and more direct arm work. Maybe emphasize biceps and triceps more than forearms, and use variations that hit the arms harder like close grip bench (even using bands would help). At any rate, I'm glad to hear you're making great strength gains! I look very forward to seeing your transformation :)

Hope this helps and keep up the good work.