Wednesday's routine

Generally when you are training to change your body composition you think high reps, low weight and not much else. Training like this is not wrong and I do use that type of work with my clients, however lifting with lower reps and heavier weights cant be overlooked and needs to be apart of your program. You need to build muscle mass in order to drive your metabolism and burn more calories at rest. More often than not you will feel more exhausted from doing the workout format below that something that is deemed more "cardio" based.


* The weights used need to be heavy for the first grouping of 4 exercises. The 7th and 8th rep should be very tough and be hard to finish, if this is not the case then bump up the weight used. It is ok to drop down weight as you move from set to set if need be.

Main lifts

A1) UPPER BODY PULL MOVEMENT- 8 reps
A2) LOWER BODY QUAD DOM MOVEMENT- 8 reps ( squats, lunges, split squats etc )
A3) UPPER BODY PUSH MOVEMENT- 8 reps
A4) LOWER BODY HIP DOM MOVEMENT- 8 reps ( deadlifts, glute thrusters, ham curls variations )
* 6 total rounds. Take 2-3 minutes between rounds ( if the weight is hard enough then this will be needed)


Conditioning & Core

Pick  2 core exercises
Pick  2 conditioning exercises ( ball slams, burpees, hill climbers, rope work, sled work, etc )
*Do 4 total rounds. Take 60 sec- 90 sec between rounds

Using Ladders in your workout

Ladders are done with a escalating or descending rep scheme. Using ladders can help you get a ton of work done in a short period of time. The only drawback of using ladders is that you tend to just do it with one exercise at a time.

You have 3 options when doing ladders-

OPTION A- Increase the reps as you increase the weight

EXAMPLE-
 Shoulder press

Set 1-30lbs 1 rep
Set 2-35lbs 2 reps
Set 3-40lbs 3 reps
Set 4-45lbs 4 reps
Set 5-50lbs 5 reps
REST

* Once you get done with the ladder you can descend back down to set 1 or start over.

OPTION B-Increase the reps as you decrease the reps

EXAMPLE-
   Bicep curls with cable

SET 1-Whole stack 1 rep
SET 2-Whole stack minus 10 lbs 2 reps
SET 3-Whole stack minus 20lbs 3 reps
etc....Go until you have done 10 reps


OPTION C-Increase reps as you keep the weight the same


  

3 training priorities for fat loss

#1) Train with high volume, short rest periods and moderate loads-The best thing to do is use these 3 guidelines and do mulit-joint exercises like squats, deadlifts, rows, lunges and presses to make up the brunt of your routine. Leave the one arm dumbbell tricep kickbacks out of the plan if you want to maximize your results.I have found that lifting in the 8-12 rep range works best.Look to keep rest periods under 60 seconds using moderate loads.Doing all of these things will help elevate growth hormone which will help increase fat breakdown. Think of doing supersets, tri-sets and quad sets circuits.


#2) Make strength training the priority over aerobic exercise -Simply build muscle and burn more calories at rest. Sounds like something everyone would want it. Wouldn't it be great to burn more calories by just sitting and watching tv? You can, just by adding more lean muscle mass to your frame. Strength training that uses high volume, short rest periods and moderate loads with multi-joint exercises is far superior to aerobic exercise. 

#3)  Do high intensity anaerobic training over low intensity aerobic training-Doing things like intervals in which you do short bursts of high speed followed by brief rest periods will result in greater benefit than long distance steady state cardio. Long distance cardio does have its place in your fat loss program, but it should not be as significant as high intensity intervals.

Random training tips...

• If your elbow, knee or shoulder joints are hurting then try decreasing your training frequency. All of these joints will greatly benefit from less exposure. If you are doing chest/shoulders 3x a week and you have shoulder pain then reduce the days to 1 and see what happens. Another thing that can help is taking fish oil which helps reduce inflammation.

•  Training with a partner or group really can improve results. You will always up your game when someone else is around you and you have an audience. Ever notice how much stronger you feel when you someone is spotting you.Not only will you get motivational benefits but also you will have someone to hold you accountable.

• Bigger muscles need more recovery and less volume than smaller ones.Hamstrings, chest and the back for example are muscle groups you don't need to hit as often. Calves and forearms you can hit 3x a week and be totally fine. 

• Only take advice from someone who has done it. Don't let the guy in the gym tell you how to squat when he himself cant squat to save his life. Would you take nutrition advice from an overweight person?

• Do your best to keep straight bar bicep curls to a minimum. They tend to stress the joints too much. Instead opt for the EZ bar curl.

• Your should be able to use the same weight on your strongest chest exercise as you do on your strongest lat exercise. Most people will lack with the back strength.

4 Mistakes I commonly see in the gym

1) People overusing the machines-Don't get me wrong there are a few solid machines but they still should never be the basis for your training program. Dumbbells, barbells and body weight exercises still should be the cornerstones of your program. Machines generally isolate and work muscles separately and keep the body in a fixed plane of motion. Free weights force you to have to stabilize with your smaller muscles and allow for better range of motion.

2) Chest city-Guys will always bench and bench some more and then even more. Doing chest presses is just a part of our DNA, our manhood, our testosterone driven selves, we just need and want to do it. I am just like all the other guys I love hitting the pecs but you need to know how to balance the upper body. Aim for a 2-1 work ratio of back to chest. Meaning you do 1 set of chest, do 2 sets of back.

3) Lack of intensity- I feel like about 5% of the lifting population actually works out at a high intensity. People just don't push themselves on a daily basis and end up not hitting their goals because of it. Those that read People magazine while on the treadmill, the guys that talk to their best friend for 10 minutes between sets and the woman using 1lb dumbbells for every exercise........you all need to step it up! Crank the intensity waaaaay up and watch your results improve!

4) Repeated everything workout- You can go take a seat right in the center of the gym for the whole day everyday and watch people do their typical regime each workout. You watch the guy go from 10 reps of presses to 10 reps of squats to 10 reps of crunches then rest. You see him do this multiple times a week and the workout never changes, ever! We are all human, and we are creatures of habit but you must recognize this is the path to getting nowhere! You must have some form of change from workout to workout. Just a small change makes all the difference in the world.

Body fat meltdown workout

* NOTE-VIDEOS FOR CERTAIN EXERCISES ARE SHOWN BELOW THE WORKOUT. FOR BEST VIEWING DOUBLE CLICK EACH VIDEO.

A1) X Row with cable pulley-10 reps  SEE VIDEO

A2) Lumberjack squat with barbell-8 reps  SEE VIDEO

*Do 2 sets then go right into B

B1) Split stance neutral grip dumbbell shoulder press-8 reps

B2) Sumo squat with dumbbell-12 reps

*Do 2 sets and take a brief rest.Next go right back into A, doing all 4 exercises in a row for 2 total rounds. So A1,A2,B1,B2 x 2 without rest

C1) Prone incline dumbbell rows ( SEE VIDEO, EXCEPT DO 2 ARMS NOT 1 ) 10 reps

C2) Kettlebell swings-16 reps

*Do 2 sets then go right into D

D1) Pushups-hold each rep at the top for 5 sec ( do as many as you can )
D2) Reverse lunges with dumbbells-8 reps each
*Do 2 sets then take a brief rest. Next Next go right back into C, doing all 4 exercises in a row for 2 total rounds. So C1,C2,D1,D2 x 2 without rest

VIDEOS

Motivation to dominate your Monday!

Tri-set for the biceps

A1) Isometric preacher curl- 30-45sec. Hold the bar so your forearms are parallel to the floor and keep a hard contraction on your biceps the entire time.

TAKE 20 SEC THEN..


B1) Seated dumbbell hammer curls-8-10 reps

TAKE 20 SEC THEN..

C1) Chin-up-8-10 reps

* Take 2 min of rest then repeat 2 more rounds