MEV Training Program

How to choose (decision box)

• 4-Day — default growth / recovery balance. Use unless schedule or session density forces a change.
• 5-Day — only when you truly have 5 training days and want shorter sessions at the same weekly stimulus. Confirm benefit with session RPE, late-set quality, and next-day readiness vs a 4-day block.
• 3-Day — real schedule constraint only. Priority muscles stay near full floors; some isolation categories are reduced. Do not let 3-day become the default primary.

Core strategy

• Quality over density. Hard sets at prescribed RIR beat high set counts with poor execution.
• Compounds default 2. Add a 3rd only after a defined stall (see Intensity / Recovery). Do not inflate volume preemptively.
• Isolation fills the weekly floor. Arms, side delts, rear delts, calves get dedicated work so compounds don’t have to do everything.
• Shoulder longevity first. No overhead press. Supinated front raise covers front delts. Machine / neutral / supported bias is intentional for the documented pathology — not only gym access.
• Secondary trauma is real. Biceps on pulls; triceps on presses. Direct arm work is distributed with that budget in mind.
• Progression is double progression (or total-reps targets). Log load × reps × RIR. Distinguish real stalls from sleep/diet noise.
• Deload on purpose every ~5–7 weeks, or when objective/subjective cues fire — not only when forced.

Session time estimates (realistic rests)

• 4-Day Upper: ~75–90 min · Lower: ~70–85 min
• 5-Day Push/Pull: ~50–65 min · Legs: ~60–75 · Upper Balance: ~70–85 · Lower Balance: ~65–80
• 3-Day FB: ~70–90 min each

Leg compounds rest ~4–5 min. Isolations ~2–2:30. If a session runs long, drop the last isolation before dropping the first compound.

MEV is a floor concept, not a rigid brand claim. The listed weekly targets are starting hard-set floors for this program. With real intensity they should produce adaptation; they are best described as quality-first low–mid MAV on priority muscles, nearer MEV on others. True individual MEV/MAV varies by muscle and recovery state — treat these numbers as the locked baseline, then add volume only via the stall rule or deliberate isolation bias, not by rewriting floors every week.

• Hard set = controlled form at the RIR prescribed for that set type (see Intensity).
• Do not chase fatigue for its own sake. If later sets lose quality, the session is too long or rest is too short.
• When a compound stalls (defined below): add a 3rd hard set on that lift before swapping the exercise.
• On a cut / recomp: keep intensity; prefer trimming isolation before cutting primary compounds. Walking NEAT counts.
• Higher recovery phases (e.g. blast): prefer extra isolation sets on 1–2 priority muscles, or gated 3rd compounds after stall — do not permanently raise every floor.

Cartilage on the ball of the shoulder joint is damaged. That surface does not like aggressive compressive + shear loading in vulnerable angles.

Joint management for training continuity — not a medical diagnosis. New or worsening symptoms → recheck with a clinician.

• Compounds: default 2 hard sets (5–10 reps). Add a 3rd only after a defined stall (Intensity section). Rest ~3:30–5:00 (leg compounds toward 5:00; upper nearer 4:00).
• Isolation: top set 6–10 (or 8–12 small muscles) → back-off 10–15 with stricter contractions. Rest ~2–3 min.
• Lower-day order (4-day): Lower 1 = leg curl → Hack → RDL → isolation → arms. Lower 2 = RDL first → Leg Press → leg curl → isolation → arms.
• Lower 2 warm-ups: 1–2 light leg-curl sets before the RDL are allowed. They do not count as working sets.
• Calves: standing raise is the hard work (4 sets each lower day on 4/5-day). Seated is optional only if needed — not in the 4/5-day catalog by default.
• Triceps (4-day): both patterns every upper day. Upper 1 = OH primary (3) + pushdown (2). Upper 2 = pushdown primary (3) + OH (2). Weekly direct floor = 10.
• Biceps (4-day): none on Upper 1. Upper 2 Bayesian 2 + both lowers (Bayesian 2 + Hammer 2 each) = 10 weekly.
• Primary plan: 4-Day. Busy weeks only: 3-Day Full Body. 5 training days + density need: 5-Day matched volume.

• Compounds: early sets 2 RIR; final set 1–2 RIR. Reach 0–1 RIR only if the movement is stable and shoulder/joint symptoms have been absent for ≥3 consecutive sessions, with no technique breakdown.
• RDLs: always 1–2 RIR (never 0). Technical quality over grinding.
• Isolations: top set 1–2 RIR; back-off sets 1–2 RIR; final set may reach 0–1 if stable.
• Front raises / small isolations: quality contraction; same isolation RIR rules; stop on anterior shoulder pinch.
• A deliberate 2-RIR set is still productive hypertrophy work and better fatigue management than failed grinders.

Defined stall (compounds)

Stall = same load and same top-set reps on a compound for 2 consecutive sessions at the prescribed RIR (not one bad day, not sleep/diet noise alone). Only after that may you add a 3rd hard set on that compound. Do not add sets preemptively.

Mesocycle shape

• Weeks 1–5/6: repeat the weekly template; progress load/reps via double progression.
• Week 6/7: deload as above.
• Reload: return to prior working loads — not an ego jump.
• Optional at deload: swap 1–2 isolation movements within the same pattern (e.g. fly variant, curl variant). Keep core compounds stable for tracking.
• Higher recovery phases: add isolation sets on 1–2 priority muscles, or a gated 3rd compound after stall — do not rewrite baseline weekly floors.

Tracking metrics

• Always: load × reps × RIR.
• Recommended: session RPE 1–10 after each session; simple joint score (shoulder / elbow / low back) 1–5 pre-session.
• Optional: morning readiness or resting heart rate if you already track it.
• 5-day working? Lower average session RPE and/or better late-set quality at matched weekly volume vs a 4-day block.
• 3-day not under-stimulating? Key compound loads/reps stable over 1–2 busy weeks; if dropping, shorten 3-day use or protect more sets on lagging muscles.

• Weekly floors (4/5-day): Biceps 10 · Triceps 10.
• Triceps: dual pattern — long-head (OH) emphasis one day, pushdown emphasis the other. Both patterns appear so neither head is neglected.
• Biceps: none on the heaviest upper day (Upper 1). Distributed across Upper 2 + both lower days so direct work isn’t stacked on top of max upper fatigue.
• Secondary trauma: pulls tax biceps; presses tax triceps. Don’t treat compounds as “zero arm work.”
• Optional quality levers: do arm isolation while relatively fresh (before shrugs). Optional 45–60s loaded stretch after the last set of Bayesian or OH tri.
• If arms lag after 4–6 clean weeks: short bias block (keep compounds at 2; shift 1–2 sets toward the lagging arm group without raising total weekly volume much), then return to the locked floors.

Front delts via 2× supinated DB front raise (no OH press). Triceps 10 direct + pressing. Biceps 10. Calves = standing only (4+4). Add a 3rd compound set only after a defined stall. 3-Day uses selective priority-preserving floors (not a flat % cut) — see 3-Day section.

No shoulder press in the default plan — front raise (supinated) only.

No SA DB row in the default Upper 2. Available as a swap if desired.

Seated calves: optional 0–2 at the end of either lower day if standing work did not fully tax the soleus. Not required and not in the catalog by default.

Stall rule: compounds stay at 2 hard sets until a real ~2-week stall — then add a 3rd before changing the movement.

Use when you have 5 training days and 4-day sessions feel long or late-set quality drops. Weekly volume matches the 4-day targets (not higher) — this is a distribution / shorter-session tool, not a lower-weekly-stress plan. Fatigue benefit is confirmed by metrics (session RPE, late-set quality, next-day readiness), not assumed. Same intensity, shoulder rules, and defined stall logic. Front raise (supinated) on Push only — no shoulder press. Prefer the 4-day when recovery or schedule is tight.

Priority-preserving busy-week compression — not a flat percentage cut. Total working sets are ~78% of the 4-day plan (~67 vs ~86). Per-muscle floors are selective: protect priority stimulus, trim lower-priority isolation categories.

Near full 4-day floors: Chest 8 · Side 6 · Front 2 · Tri 10 · Quads 8 · Calves 8 · Core 4 · Thickness 4. Reduced: Bi 7 · Hams 7 · Traps 2 · Rear 2 · Add 2. Width 6 (slightly higher from frequency). Live lists after v48 seed.

Rules: compounds default 2 · no shoulder press (front raise on FB1) · standing calves only · dual tri across the week · Bayesian earlier on FB2 · optional loaded stretch after last OH tri or Bayesian · defined stall before any 3rd compound set.