• Leg Day with Dumbbells

• Why Training Logs Work

• Should You Always Go to Failure?

• EAAs: What to Know Now

For a long time, I didn’t log my training. I just remembered my workouts.

Bodybuilding was my life, so I had everything in my head — the exercises, weights, and number of sets and reps.

I convinced myself that my approach was fine. But then I started training with Justin King, and he told me something I’ve never forgotten:

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

That flipped a switch. Because it was true. I was dialed with my diet, always tracking macros, always chasing perfection. So why wasn’t I doing the same with my lifts?

Since then, I’ve become a huge believer in logging everything — not just to remember what I did, but to create a clear, no-BS roadmap for where I’m going.

There’s no better tool for making gains and busting out of plateaus. One look at your last session and you know: did I get stronger or not?

Progressive overload doesn’t have to be complicated. It can mean adding 5, 2.5, or even 1 pound. If you hit 10 reps last week and 10 again this week with a bit more weight, that’s progress.

You’re building momentum. You’re doing exactly what’s required to grow.

Some days you’re off — tired, distracted, not at your best. That’s life. But when you log your workouts, you’re not winging it. You’ve got a clear plan based on your last session.

If you need to pull back, you can — fewer reps, less weight, shorter sets — but you’ll know exactly where you are and where you want to get back to.

That’s why tracking is baked into the STNDRD app. We built it to make logging your training easy and automatic — no spreadsheets, no overthinking.

You can input your sets, reps, and weights right as you train, and every time you return to an exercise, you’ll see exactly what you did last time.

Want to track what you benched a month ago? It’s there. Want to know how your dumbbell row progressed across a cut? It’s there.

You’re building your own performance history, workout after workout, so you can easily see where you’re crushing it and where you need to apply some discipline.

Research backs me up on this: people who consistently log their workouts make better strength gains and are more likely to stick to their program than people who don’t.

Why? Because they stay engaged. They stay honest. They stay locked in.

So if you’re serious about results, don’t guess. Don’t assume. Log it.

That’s how you grow. That’s how you win.

Set the Standard!

Chris

💪 Crush your lower-body workouts without a full gym

Summer means you’re on the move, getting outside, taking long weekends, and going on vacation. That’s a good thing. But it doesn’t give you an excuse to skip your lift, especially leg day.

That’s where the STNDRD app comes in.

It goes where you go, and delivers serious workouts no matter where you are or what equipment you have.

One of my go-to sessions when I’m away from my home gym is the Lower Body – Lite Equipment workout. It hits your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves in under an hour, and all you need is a set of dumbbells.

The key? Tempo.

Slowing down your reps increases time under tension, which creates more stimulus without needing heavy weight or a squat rack.

Here’s how it breaks down:

🔁 A1 / A2 Circuit – 5 Rounds

Perform both movements back-to-back. Rest 150 sec after each round.

A1: Heel-Elevated Goblet Squat — 5 sets x 20 reps
Tempo: 2️⃣ / 0️⃣ / 2️⃣ / 0️⃣
✔️ 2-sec lower → no pause → 2-sec rise → no pause
✔️ Elevate your heels to shift focus to your quads
✔️ Keep your chest tall, core braced

Rest: 10 sec → go to A2

A2: Dumbbell Walking Lunges — 5 sets x 60 seconds
✔️ Stay smooth and controlled
✔️ Step fully, extend, and push off the front foot

Rest: 150 sec → begin next round

🔹 Front-Foot Elevated DB Split Squat

5 sets x 12 reps (each leg)
Tempo: 3️⃣ / 0️⃣ / 2️⃣ / 0️⃣
✔️ Elevating the front foot increases range
✔️ Slow eccentric, strong push through the heel

Rest: 90 sec between sets

🔹 Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift (RDL)

3 sets x 50 reps
Tempo: 2️⃣ / 0️⃣ / 1️⃣ / 0️⃣
✔️ Hinge at the hips, spine neutral
✔️ Keep dumbbells close and tension constant

Rest: 90 sec between sets

🔹 Standing One-Leg Calf Raise

5 sets to failure (AMRAP)
✔️ Drive through the ball of your foot
✔️ Full squeeze at the top, slow on the way down

Rest: 30 sec between sets

You don’t need a perfect setup — just dumbbells, discipline, and this workout.

🔗 Join STNDRD and start training like a champ.

— Justin King

💪 Why EAAs > BCAAs for Building Muscle

Most lifters know about BCAAs — branched-chain amino acids — because they’re everywhere.

But here’s the truth: BCAAs only give you 3 of the 9 essential amino acids (EAAs) your body needs to build muscle.

If you’re serious about results, taking EAAs is a better option. They include all 9 essential aminos your body can’t produce on its own, which makes them critical for muscle repair, growth, and recovery.

Here’s why EAAs are better than BCAAs:

• BCAAs (leucine, isoleucine, valine) stimulate protein synthesis, but without the other 6 EAAs, your body can’t complete the process.

• EAAs fill in the full spectrum, so you actually build new muscle tissue, not just trigger the signal.

• They’re especially useful when training fasted, cutting calories, or in between meals when you want to stay anabolic.

When to take them:

• First thing in the morning (especially if you delay breakfast)

• Pre-workout or during your workout

• Between meals, if you’re deep in a cut

• Anytime you want recovery support without a full meal

A lot of lifters drink RAW Nutrition EAAs while training, or mix them into a basic hydration routine mid-day. They keep you sharp, help prevent muscle breakdown, and taste good, too.

Simple Daily EAA Hydrator

• 1 scoop RAW EAAs

• 16 oz cold water

• A handful of ice

• Pinch of sea salt (electrolytes)

• Optional: 1/2 squeezed lemon or lime

Shake and drink during your lift or any time during the day. It’s light, refreshing, and helps keep your muscles fed without adding calories.

If you’re putting in the work, you should be doing everything you can to recover and grow. EAAs do more than just plug holes in your diet, they support real progress.

🔥 Set the Standard — Eat Clean, Train Hard, Get Bigger.

Go to RAW Nutrition and use the discount code CBUM for the best deal on all of our products!

Q: Hi Chris, should I train to failure on every set?

— Jimmy F., Salt Lake City, Utah

A: Hey, Jimmy, no, not every time. Training to failure has its place, but if you’re doing it on every set, every workout, you’re probably restricting your gains.

When you push to failure, you're taking your muscle to its absolute limit, which creates major stimulus.

But that also jacks up fatigue, increases recovery time, and can trash your form, especially on compound lifts. That’s not how you build long-term progress.

Here’s how I approach it:

• On accessory lifts (think curls, lateral raises, leg extensions), I’ll often take the last set to failure.

• On big lifts (squat, deadlift, bench), I stop 1–2 reps shy of failure to stay clean and recover faster.

You don’t need to annihilate yourself to grow. What matters most is consistent, progressive overload, more reps, more weight, more control over time. Track your numbers, focus on form, and use failure strategically.

Remember: Failure is a tool, not a requirement.

Question for Chris? Hit reply or email [email protected] and we’ll consider it for inclusion in a future issue of The Standard.

Champion Mentality

"Rules are for people who can’t follow directions. Standards are for people who aspire to do great things."

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