When it comes to building muscle, more doesn’t always equal more. Higher training volume can lead to greater gains, but only up to a point. Beyond that, research says piling on endless sets offers little more than diminishing returns – building fatigue, but not necessarily muscle.
For busy dads juggling work, family and every other life commitment, that’s welcome news. Effective training doesn’t always need to mean marathon sessions in the gym.
‘Training doesn’t have to be complicated and you don’t have to get into the weeds,’ says Eric Evans, known as Average to Jacked on YouTube. He says the 1×4 method is ‘the simplest workout programme to get jacked’.
In this repeatable workout, you can cover the major movement patterns, track your numbers, then try to beat them next time. ‘Progression is the key to growth,’ says Evans. ‘All your focus is on: am I stronger than I was last week?’
The 1×4 Back and Biceps Workout
Warm-up: Light band circuit, 10-15 reps per movement
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Include:
- Shoulder openers
- Band curls
- Face pulls
- Overhead press pattern
- Neck rolls
- Arm circles
Evans says the warm-up is designed to prepare him for the workout without affecting recovery. The goal isn’t to fatigue yourself before the main lifts, but to avoid jumping straight into a hard set cold.
‘The idea is that you’re not jumping into that first exercise to failure super cold,’ he says.
For the first main movement, Evans also performs a specific warm-up set at around 50-60% of his working weight before moving into his all-out effort. If you’re newer to training, lifting heavier loads, or simply need more time to feel ready, it’s sensible to add additional ramp-up sets before pushing close to failure.
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown
1-2 warm-up sets, then 1 working set to failure
1-2 warm-up or ramp-up sets if needed, then 1 working set to failure
1 lighter primer set if needed, then 1 working set close to failure
1 lighter primer set if needed, then 1 working set close to failure
The Moves
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown
The first exercise is a wide-grip vertical pull.
‘I personally feel like this is how I’ve built most of my back width,’ says Evans.
He starts with 1 warm-up set at around 50-60% of his working weight before moving into his all-out set. During the movement, he focuses on achieving a full stretch at the top – ‘almost as if my arms are trying to be pulled off my body’ – before driving the weight down explosively.
Evans uses the lat pulldown in the demonstration, but stresses that you don’t need to be tied to a specific exercise. A wide-grip pull-up or another vertical pulling variation can fulfil the same role.
‘Your body doesn’t know specific exercises,’ he says. ‘We are focusing on the movement pattern.’
Chest-Supported Row
‘The next piece of equipment we’re going to use is the chest-supported row,’ says Evans. ‘What this is going to do is help build thickness.’
Again, the exact exercise can be swapped depending on the equipment available. A landmine row, T-bar row or barbell row can all serve the same purpose, provided you’re matching the horizontal pulling movement pattern.
‘We have the vertical pull to build width. We have the chest-supported row to build thickness. So now our back’s covered.’
Rear Delt Fly
The third movement is a rear delt fly, used to target the rear delts and upper back.
In a commercial gym, Evans says he would usually perform the exercise on a pec deck machine. In his home gym, he opts for dumbbells instead.
‘If you don’t have this machine, once again, you just mimic the movement,’ he says.
Dumbbell Biceps Curl
‘For the fourth movement and the final movement of the 1×4 method, we’re going to do simple biceps curls with dumbbells,’ says Evans.
The goal is straightforward: progressive overload.
In the video, Evans is trying to beat the number of reps he achieved the previous week.
‘I did 10 last week, and it shows that I just hit a PR.’
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