Did you know that working three total body lifts per week actually can help you focus on lagging muscle groups even more so?
There are a few ways to do so; here's what I recommend:
1. Prioritize the exercises focusing on your lagging muscle group FIRST.
For example, if you want to grow your glutes then start each lift with the glute-focused movements. If glute thrusts & squats are in your workout, then start with those. You will be the freshest at the start of your lift and be able to get the greatest muscle activation & muscle fiber recruitment with what you begin with. If you want to focus on your triceps, start with the triceps movements first... and so on!
2. Integrate a light, focused lift in between your total body workouts that focuses in on the lagging muscle group.
The key here though is to keep it light. For example, if you want to focus on your shoulders, then on your rest day in between lifts you can add in a workout with 2-3 shoulder exercises. But keep the weight lighter and focus on slightly higher reps, aiming for 2-3 sets each of about 12-15 reps. This will help activate your muscles without overworking them. Do this 1-2x per week.
If you are looking to focus on your core, you can add in the supplemental core lift given in The Weekly Lift! For any other muscle groups, supplement with any moves that you want to or if you are unsure, you can repeat given moves for the specific muscle group from the other total body lifts.
3. Utilize the upper & lower body lifts given in the Weekly Lift. If you find you are lagging in general in either your upper body or lower body, then work the two total body lifts & make the third one of the more focused upper or lower body lifts.
4. Scale back on other muscle groups. If you tend to see quick growth in a certain area, scale back on exercises targeting those muscles for a time while you focus on the lagging group. For example, if you tend to see quick growth in your biceps but slow growth in your shoulders, you can skip out on some of the bicep movements throughout the week and replace it with additional shoulder work.