Complete this canvas before adding a set
| Field | Question | Useful example | Warning that it is vague |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Priority | Which muscle, and why? | Side delts: improve them without losing press performance | “All upper body” or a mirror-only comparison |
| 2. Baseline | How many repeatable direct sets do you perform now? | 8 weekly sets with two stable variations | Warm-ups, direct and indirect work are mixed |
| 3. Anchors | Which exercises stay for six weeks? | Cable and machine lateral raise | The variation changes every workout |
| 4. Budget | Where does the extra work come from? | Remove 3 arm sets and move 3 to delts | You only add and never subtract |
| 5. Measure | What improves besides the mirror? | More reps or load at equal RIR and range | Pump is the only metric |
| 6. Exit | When does the block end or shrink? | Week 6, or sooner after two global performance drops | No date and no stopping rule |
Volume evidence generally points toward more growth with more sets, but also toward diminishing returns and individual variation. In trained lifters, one study produced better results by scaling volume from previous training logs rather than prescribing 22 sets to everyone. That does not make “current volume × 1.2” a law; it makes your own baseline a more sensible starting point than a borrowed number.
The six-week block
| Weeks | Distribution | Job | Log | Allowed adjustment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 — Baseline | Current muscle volume across 2–3 exposures | Clean up technique, range and rest | Load, reps, RIR and direct sets | Replace an uncomfortable variation before freezing anchors |
| 3–4 — Priority | Add 2–4 direct sets moved from another muscle | Improve performance without runaway fatigue | First and final set of each anchor | One set up or down according to recovery |
| 5 — Confirm | Keep dose and exercises unchanged | See whether improvement repeats | Reps/load at equal RIR and movement quality | Add rest before adding volume |
| 6 — Exit | Hold or reduce toward sustainable volume | Finish with a comparable reference | Block trend and effects on other lifts | Finish early if cost exceeds the priority |
Put at least one anchor exercise near the start of a session. The exercise-order review found larger strength gains in movements trained first, while it detected no clear ordering advantage for hypertrophy. In practice, going early buys attention, stability and a reading less polluted by fatigue; moving an exercise does not guarantee that muscle will grow.
- Pick two anchors
Use one stable variation for progression and another that covers a complementary function or angle. Six exercises are not required to prove priority.
- Spread, do not pile up
Distribute extra work across two or three days. Frequency organizes volume; it does not guarantee extra hypertrophy by itself.
- Keep 1–3 RIR
Most sets should be demanding and repeatable. Failure can add fatigue without improving the comparison you need.
- Freeze the experiment
Do not change exercises, range, technique and volume together. When everything moves, improvement cannot tell you what worked.
Complete example: side delts
| Day | Before | During the block | RIR | Volume that gives way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 3 lateral-raise sets at the end | 4 cable sets after the first press | 2–3 | 1 triceps set |
| Wednesday | No direct work | 3 machine sets at the start | 2 | 2 biceps sets |
| Friday | 5 sets across cable and dumbbells | 5 sets: 3 cable + 2 machine | 1–2 | No additional removal |
| Total | 8 direct sets | 12 direct sets | Mostly 1–3 | 3 arm sets + 1 set freed by reorganization |
The week-four decision
On cable raises you move from 7.5 kg × 14 to 8.75 kg × 13 with the same 2 RIR and range. The machine gains two reps and pressing holds. Keep 12 sets. Had pressing fallen twice and the shoulder felt irritated, you would return to 10; the block does not win by accumulating more.
Systematic exercise variation can cover different regions or functions, whereas frequent random rotation can make adaptation and measurement harder. The example therefore uses two anchors and keeps everything else simple. A progress photo can add context when lighting, pose and distance stay consistent, but it does not replace performance, measurements or professional assessment of a true asymmetry.
When to trim or close the block
| Signal | Reading | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Green | Anchors progress and other lifts hold | Keep the dose through week 6 |
| Amber | Local improvement with one isolated drop elsewhere | Repeat the week, add rest and do not add sets |
| Red | Two poorer sessions, pain or altered technique | Trim 2–4 sets; stop the movement and seek advice if pain persists |
| Exit | Week 6 ends with a clean reference | Return toward sustainable volume and choose another priority later |
BUSTAFIT displays weekly volume and preserves each exercise history, but it does not label a muscle “lagging” for you or correct genetics. Its value is more grounded: you can see whether the priority improved the target sets without hiding what the change cost elsewhere in the week.