Feet flat on floor, back slightly arched, shoulder blades pinched and driven into the bench. Grip just outside shoulder width. Lower the bar to your mid-chest — not your neck or stomach. Touch lightly, then press in a slight arc back toward your face. Control the descent for 2–3 seconds. Don't bounce off the chest — that removes tension from the muscle and risks injury.

Bench at 30–45°. Elbows at 45° to your torso — not flared out wide. Drive the dumbbells up and slightly inward so they nearly touch at the top. Squeeze hard at the peak for 1 second. The upper chest is almost always underdeveloped and is the area that makes a chest look full and rounded from the front — prioritise these.

Set cables at the lowest setting. Stand in the centre, slight forward lean. Arc the handles upward and inward, meeting at chest height in front of you. Keep a slight bend in the elbows throughout — freeze that angle. The key is the stretch at the bottom: let your arms open fully so you feel a deep pull across your chest. Cables maintain tension through the entire range where dumbbells go slack at the top.

Grip parallel bars, lean your torso forward — this shifts the work to the chest instead of the triceps. Lower yourself until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Push back up. The forward lean is critical: if you stay upright it becomes a tricep exercise. Add a dumbbell between your knees once bodyweight becomes easy for all sets. If dips are not available, use decline dumbbell press instead.

Elbows pinned to your sides — they must not move at all. Push the rope down, flaring the hands outward at the bottom so they separate. Full extension, squeeze hard for 1 second at the bottom. Control the return. The triceps make up roughly two-thirds of your total arm size — prioritising them over biceps will make your arms look noticeably bigger faster.

Arms overhead, elbows pointing at the ceiling and held as close together as possible. Lower behind your head until forearms are parallel to the floor, then press back to full extension. Only your forearms move — upper arms are completely fixed. This hits the long head which only gets fully stretched when the arm is overhead, making this the most important tricep exercise.

Pull-up: hang at full arm extension, depress shoulder blades before pulling (shrug your shoulders down first). Drive elbows down and back toward your hips — not behind you. Chin clears the bar. Lower in 3 seconds — full hang each rep. Add weight once you can do 8 clean reps. Lat pulldown cue: same movement, lean back 10–15°, pull bar to upper chest. Back width is the single most impactful muscle for how your body looks in a t-shirt.

For barbell row: hinge forward to 45°, bar hanging at arm's length, pull to your lower ribs — not your belly button. Elbows stay close to your sides. Squeeze shoulder blades together at the top. Lower with control. For dumbbell row: one knee and hand on bench, row the dumbbell to your hip. Don't rotate your torso — the moment you twist you're using momentum not muscle.

Use a wide bar attachment. Sit tall, slight forward lean to start. Drive elbows back and outward — so they flare wide rather than tucking to your sides. This variation hits the upper back and rear delts more than a close-grip row. Pull until the bar touches your sternum, squeeze for 1 second. For volleyball players the upper back and rear delts are what keep the shoulder healthy under the repeated overhead load of serving and spiking.

Cable at face height, rope attachment. Pull toward your face, elbows high and wide. End position: hands beside your ears, forearms pointing at the ceiling, elbows flared. Pause 1 second. This directly trains the rotator cuff — the four small muscles that stabilise your shoulder joint. If you skip this exercise repeatedly and play overhead sports, you will eventually get a shoulder injury. Non-negotiable.

Stand upright, elbows pinned at sides. Curl in a smooth arc, supinating (rotating palms up) at the top. Lower in 3 seconds — don't drop the weight. The 3-second lowering phase is where most of the growth stimulus happens. Elbows drifting forward means the weight is too heavy — drop it 5kg and do it properly. Biceps are a small muscle: perfect form matters more than weight here.

Sit on an incline bench at 60°, arms hanging fully behind your body. Curl upward — because your arms start behind your torso, the long head of the bicep gets a greater stretch than in a standard curl. This is what creates the high, peaked look of the bicep. Keep your upper arms behind your body throughout — the moment they drift forward you lose the stretch advantage. Light weight, full range.

Neutral grip (thumbs up) throughout the full range — no rotation. Curl both dumbbells simultaneously. This targets the brachialis, which sits beneath the bicep and pushes it upward — adding thickness to the arm from all angles. Also builds forearm and grip strength directly useful for ball control and throwing in football.

400m easy jog. Then: leg swings forward/back x10 each, lateral leg swings x10, hip circles x10 each direction, high knees 20m, butt kicks 20m, lateral shuffle 10m each way, ankle bounces in place 20 reps. Never skip this — cutting hard on cold joints causes ankle and knee injuries.

Set 3 cones in a line: 5m, 10m, 5m. Start at the middle cone in an athletic stance — feet shoulder-width, slight knee bend, weight on balls of feet. Sprint 5m right, touch the cone with your hand (not just your foot — forces a real low position), sprint 10m left, touch, sprint 5m back to centre. Drive off the outside foot on every direction change. The lower you get at each cone, the faster you'll be.

Jog forward 5m, plant hard off one foot at full speed, drive your knee up and sprint 10m in the new direction at 90°. The plant foot must point in the original direction while your hips open to the new direction — this is the fundamental mechanics of any directional change in football. Alternate which foot you plant on each rep.

Stand in front of a box (or just jump for height if no box). Feet shoulder-width. Drop quickly into a quarter-squat — arms swing back — then explode upward, driving arms overhead. Land softly with bent knees, absorbing through the whole foot. For volleyball specifically: at peak jump height, reach both arms overhead as if blocking. Full extension of the body at the top — this is your blocking position.

Sprint 4m laterally, drop to the floor in a controlled dive (catch yourself on your hands, not your face), get back up as fast as possible, sprint 4m back. This directly trains the defensive dig movement — the sprint to ball position, the dive, the recovery to feet. In volleyball, how fast you get up from a dig determines whether you're in position for the next ball. Get up by pushing off the floor explosively — don't crawl.

Hold a med ball (5–8kg) overhead. Stand feet shoulder-width. Reach fully overhead then drive the ball down to the floor with maximum force, bending forward as you slam. Catch the bounce or pick it up. The mechanics — reach up, snap down — are almost identical to a volleyball spike. The shoulder speed and core rotation you build here translates directly to spike power.

Stand in neutral position — not leaning. On a random audio signal (phone app, partner clap, or whistle), sprint 10m as fast as possible. The randomness trains your nervous system to react without anticipating. For football: react to an imaginary through ball. For volleyball: react as if the opposition has just hit the ball — you're reading and moving simultaneously. This is one of the most underrated athletic skills.

30 sec max sprint on treadmill at 13–15 km/h, then 30 sec walk. Repeat 10 rounds. This directly mimics the sprint-rest pattern of football — you rarely run for more than 30 seconds at full speed before a break. For volleyball it trains the explosive burst you need to cover the court. By round 8–10 it should be genuinely difficult to maintain the sprint speed.

Bar rests on your upper traps — not your neck. Feet shoulder-width or slightly wider, toes angled out 15–30°. Take a big breath into your belly (brace your core like you're about to get punched). Descend by pushing your knees out in the direction of your toes — don't let them cave inward. Go until your thighs are parallel to the floor or slightly below. Drive up by pushing the floor away from you. Don't let your chest collapse forward — if it does, the weight is too heavy or your thoracic mobility needs work. This is the single best exercise for football sprint power and volleyball jump height.

Hold barbell or dumbbells in front of you, shoulders back. Hinge at the hips — push your hips backward as the bar slides down your thighs. Keep a slight bend in the knees throughout. Lower until you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings — usually mid-shin level. Drive your hips forward to return. Keep your back flat the entire time — if it rounds, you've gone too low. Strong hamstrings are the single biggest predictor of sprint speed in football.

Feet shoulder-width on the platform, positioned so your knees track over your toes. Lower the platform until knees are at 90° — not past — then press back up. Don't lock your knees at the top. Keep your lower back pressed into the seat throughout — if it lifts off, the weight is too heavy or you're going too deep. Foot position higher = more glutes; lower = more quads.

Step forward with a long stride — front foot flat, back knee drops toward the floor without touching it. Push off the front foot to bring the back leg through into the next step. Keep your torso upright throughout — don't lean forward over your front knee. For football and volleyball, this trains single-leg stability which is exactly the position you're in when planting to change direction or landing from a jump.

Lie face down, pad resting on back of ankles just above the heel. Curl heels toward your glutes in a controlled arc. At the top, squeeze your hamstrings hard. Lower in 3 seconds. Don't let your hips lift off the pad — if they do, the weight is too heavy. Hamstring curls specifically prevent hamstring tears which are the most common football injury. Do not skip these.

Stand with balls of feet on an elevated surface, heels hanging. Lower your heels as far as possible — full stretch. Rise up as high as possible onto your toes, squeezing hard at the top. 2 seconds up, 2 seconds hold, 3 seconds down. Calves are a very slow-twitch muscle — they need high reps and full range. Strong calves directly improve your vertical jump take-off and your sprint push-off from the ball of the foot.

Stand with feet shoulder-width. Bar at upper chest, just below chin. Grip just outside shoulder width. Press directly overhead — as the bar passes your forehead, push your head slightly forward so the bar finishes over your ears, not in front of them. Full lockout at top. Lower slowly. Brace your glutes and core the entire time — don't arch your lower back to get the bar up. This is the most directly sport-relevant strength lift for volleyball overhead power.

Slight forward lean (10°), slight bend in elbows. Raise arms directly out to the side until parallel to the floor — no higher. Lead with your elbows, not your hands. Pause at the top for 1 second, lower in 3 seconds. The medial deltoid is what gives the shoulder its wide, round look. It only grows with consistent direct work — OHP alone won't develop it. Use lighter weight than you think: 10–15kg is typical even for strong people.

Hinge forward 45°, dumbbells hanging below your chest. Raise both arms outward to the side like wings — elbows slightly bent, stay bent throughout. Don't shrug your traps. Squeeze rear delts at the top. Most people have weak rear delts from too much pressing — this creates imbalanced shoulder development and increases injury risk. Essential for volleyball athletes who place heavy overhead load on the shoulder.

Full superset with the exercise below — no rest between them. Alternate grip curl: standard curl for 6 reps (supinated grip, palms up), then immediately 6 reps with a neutral grip (hammer style). The grip change targets different portions of the bicep and brachialis in the same set. 12 total reps per set.

Immediately after the curl set above: lie flat, EZ-bar or dumbbells above your chest. Lower the weight toward your forehead by bending only at the elbows — upper arms point straight up and stay fixed. Lower until the weight is just above or beside your head, then press back to full extension. This is the bis and tris superset — they are antagonist muscles so supersets here allow near-zero recovery time between sets while actually improving performance on each.

Sit on a bench, elbow resting on the inside of your thigh. Curl the dumbbell from full extension to full contraction — your upper arm must not move. Supinate hard at the top and hold for 2 seconds. This is a pure isolation movement that removes all cheating — your leg locks the elbow in place. Great for building the bicep peak because the restricted movement forces complete focus on the muscle.

Stay upright — do not lean forward (that switches to chest). Hands on parallel bars, narrow grip. Lower until elbows are at 90°, press back up. Going to failure here on the last exercise of the week for triceps is intentional — it creates maximum metabolic stress in a fully fatigued muscle. Expect 15–20 reps early in training, dropping over time as you add weight from Monday's sessions. Rest 75 seconds and repeat twice.

30 sec plank (body perfectly straight, don't let hips sag) followed immediately by 10 dead bugs (lying on back, lower opposite arm and leg simultaneously while actively pressing your lower back into the floor). Core training at the end of every session builds the transfer mechanism for all athletic power — the core is what connects your legs and arms in every sport movement.