Your muscles grow when you rest. And so the key is stimulation, not annihilation. If you’re really that addicted to training, then instead of doing an intense workout, you can just keep yourself active with sports on your off days.
Remember one thing – in order to stimulate muscle mass, and give it a reason to grow, you need to hit it with maximum intensity. Intensity and duration are related, in that the longer you workout, the less intense and effective your workout is Continue reading
In the last installment, we went over how to choose the right training split and how to organize your exercises based on that split. I hope now you have a rough schedule set up.The next step is to determine how many repetitions to perform per exercise. Use the following table as a guide: Continue reading
Split Training refers to the way you organize your fitness program based on body parts, movements, and exercises. There are three methods of organizing fitness plans that I particularly use very often: Full Body, Upper/Lower Split, and Push/Pull/Legs Split.
Full Body
A full body program is where you train your entire body in one session. The following is a three-day program based on a full body split:
Monday
Push-ups
Squat Jumps
Mixed-Grip Chinups
Wednesday
Incline Pushups
Lunges
Pullups
Friday
Hindu Pushups
Bodyweight Squats
Chinups
Creating a full body workout simply involves having at least one upper body and one lower body exercise.
Benefits of a Full Body Split:
Great starting point for beginners to develop a base level of strength
Ideal for athletes that need to train their body as one unit
Bruce Lee Trained his Body as One Unit – Image by BeWaterMyFriend
Upper/Lower Split
An upper/lower split is where you train your upper body on one day, and your lower body in another day. The following is a three-day program based on a upper/lower split:
* Perform Wednesday’s workout the following Monday. Alternate the program between an upper body and a lower body workout.
Benefits of Upper/Lower Split
More rest between muscle groups will allow for more focus in each workout
Ideal for athletes who need to work on either upper body or lower body individually for specific improvements
Great transition point from beginner to intermediate trainees
Push/Pull/Legs
Push/Pull/Legs is the most common used split. Push involves any exercise where you “push” away from your body. The chest and triceps are the primary muscles being stressed. Pull involves any exercise where you “pull” towards your body. The back and biceps are the primary muscles being stressed. Leg day is devoted to lower body training. The following is a three-day program based on the a push/pull/legs split:
Monday
Push-ups
Incline Push-ups
Hindu Push-ups
Wednesday
Mixed-Grip Chin-ups
Pull-ups
Chin-ups
Friday
Bodyweight Squats
Squat Jumps
Lunges
Benefits of Push/Pull/Legs Split
Ideal for athletes who need to work specific weaknesses
Ideal for advanced athletes who need to work strength training along with other methods of training
More rest between muscle groups will allow for more focus in each workout
Study the benefits of each training split, and decided which suits best for your goals and fitness level.
Additional Resources:
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle – This is the perfect resource to check out if you want to explore split training further. Tom Venuto provides with a template for a full body and a variety of other training splits. You also recieve a ton of information on diet and nutrition for fat loss. Check it out here.
Last Month, I presented the first month of the 12-week Advanced Strength Program. This month, the first change we will be making is in the movements. The Front Squat will be replaced with the Back Squat, and the Bent Over Row will be replaced with the Bench Press. There will also be a bit of rearranging of exercises.
The Deadlift will move to Workout A along with the Back Squat and Bench Press
The Push Press will move into Workout B along with the Overhead Squat and Power Clean
The purpose of these movement is to:
Train different parts of your body
Provide a slightly different stimulus, but not enough to completely confuse and shock your body (the goal is gradual, but consistent progress).
Just as last month, you will be steadily dropping reps and increasing the sets as the weights become heavier. But the shock factor will come on week eight when you drop your rest periods to 45 seconds. If you have been following the workout for 7 weeks straight using 60 seconds rest periods, then you should have built up enough conditioning to train with 45 seconds rest periods.
NOTE: Pay careful attention to what it does to your strength levels in the present, and in the future.
This is the fourth installment of the Fat Loss is a Battle series:
5 rounds of:10 16kg Kettlebell Snatch, each Side
10 Double Unders Substitutions
Kettlebell Snatches can be performed by dumbbells. Some bodyweight exercises can be burpees, pullups, or squat jumps.Double Unders can be substituted by sprints or any high intensity cardio.
Progressions
Beginner
Level One
3 rounds of:
2 16 kg Kettlebell Swing, each Side
2 10-Yard Sprints, back and forth (30-40 yards total)
Rest 60 seconds
Level Two
3 rounds of:
3 16 kg Kettlebell Swing, each Side
3 10-Yard Sprints, back and forth (50-60 yards total)
Rest 60 seconds
Level Three
3 rounds of:
3 16 kg Kettlebell Clean, each Side
3 10-Yard Sprints, back and forth (50-60 yards total)
Rest 60 seconds
Level Four
3 rounds of:
3 16 kg Kettlebell Clean, each Side
3 10-Yard Sprints, back and forth (50-60 yards total)
Rest 30 seconds
Level Five
4 rounds of:
3 16 kg Kettlebell Clean, each Side
3 10-Yard Sprints, back and forth (50-60 yards total)
Rest 30 seconds
I want beginners to start off with a simple kettlebell or dumbbell swing. Switch over to kettlebell or dumbbell cleans in level three. Double Unders will be replaced by sprints or running. Start off by taking 60 seconds rest in between each set, and steadily drop to 30 seconds rest between each round.
Intermediate
Level One
5 rounds of:
3 16 kg Kettlebell Clean, each Side
3 10-Yard Sprints, back and forth (50-60 yards total)
Rest 30 seconds
3 16 kg Kettlebell Clean, each Side
3 Double Unders
Level Four
5 rounds for time of:
5 16 kg Kettlebell Clean, each Side
5 Double Unders
Level Five
5 rounds for time of:
10 16 kg Kettlebell Clean, each Side
10 Double Unders
Intermediates will continue with the kettlebell or dumbbell clean. Switch over to double unders for level 3. In level two, start to time the full workout with little to no rest between each round.
Advanced
Level One
5 rounds for time of:
10 16 kg Kettlebell Snatch, each side
10 Double Unders
Level Two
5 rounds for time of:
15 16 kg Kettlebell Snatch, each side
15 Double Unders
Level Three
5 rounds for time of:
15 16 kg Kettlebell Snatch, each side
15 Double Unders
15 Hindu Pushups
Level Four
5 rounds in 20 minutes:
15 16 kg Kettlebell Snatch, each side
15 Double Unders
15 Hindu Pushups
Level Five
6 rounds in 23 minutes:
15 16 kg Kettlebell Snatch, each side
15 Double Unders
15 Hindu Pushups
I have started with level one and will progress to level five. Only attempt the advance level if you are able to perform kettlebell or dumbbell snatches with good form. Add in the hindu pushups in level three, and then attempt to complete the full workout in under 20 minutes and 23 minutes for levels 4 and 5.
I will re-post this workout again once I get to Level Five.
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The following is guest post from Josh Levine of FortisMag.Traditionally we think that in order to increase aerobic capacity (the ability to take in oxygen and use it efficiently) that we need to run, bike, or swim at long distances at a moderate intensity. We also tend to think that in order to increase anaerobic capacity (the ability to work without oxygen) we need to sprint or do short highly intense workouts. While that traditional view is not wrong, it is becoming more and more outdated. The problem with the traditional view is that an athlete is only able to work on aerobic or anaerobic at one time.
So, what’s the solution?
High intensity work with short rest intervals between work sets:
By doing this the athlete trains the body to work without oxygen during the high intensity work period and then subsequently trains the body to take in oxygen and use it efficiently during the short rest intervals.
Below are some sample sprint workouts with rest times that you may want to try.
Short Sprint Workout Program Day 1
60meters 4reps 45sec rest
40meters 6reps 30sec rest
20meteres 10reps 20sec rest
Short Sprint Workout Program Day 2
80meters 4reps 45sec rest
60meters 6reps 40sec rest
40meters 8reps 30sec rest
20meters 10reps 30sec rest
Short Sprint Workout Program Day 3
80meters 4reps 40sec rest
60meters 6reps 35sec rest
40meters 8reps 30sec rest
20meters 10reps 25sec rest
You can modify this program to suite your needs. Simply decrease rest or increase the length of the sprint to make the program harder.
Make sure that you stretch out very well before doing these workouts. Also, you should do light sprints before doing this workout. Ideally, you should do a few light sprint workouts a few days before you start this program.
For more high intensity workouts, check out the Gladiator Body Workout:
Gladiator Body Workout is an Athletic Fitness system which combines Dumbbell and Bodyweight exercises along with interval training to help you Drop Fat, Build Lean Muscle Mass, Get Stronger, and Improve Athletic Performance.
If you purchase the Combo Pack, you can also get two other eBooks which Author Coach Eddie Lomax sells separately: “Ultimate Gymless Workout” and “Extreme Dumbbell Fitness.” When you include all the workouts in all three systems, you’ll get literally months worth of fitness programming.
The Basic version sells for just $27. Each separate eBook in the Combo Pack sell for $27 but coach is giving them to you for just $49.00.
The following is a guest post from Josh Levine from FortisMag.
This workout is great for people who don’t have much time to train but want to get a great workout in. It doesn’t take long to complete, but when you are done you are completely spent. Here’s how it works:
First you do 10 Pull-ups, 20 Push-ups, 10 Body lifts, and then 20 Dips on Bench. After doing this you rest as little as possible. If you can go do 9 pull-ups right away, then go do that. If not, take a little rest until you think you can.
After you complete the first set you do 9 Pull-ups, 19 Push-ups, 9 Body lifts, and then 19 Dips on Bench. Once again rest as little as possible. You are going to continue this pattern until your last set which should consist of 1 Pull-up, 11 Push-ups, 1 Body lift, and then 11 Dips on Bench.
Some of you may not know what body lifts (also known as inverted rows) are so let me try to explain them. Basically, you lay flat on you back. You find a bar that about 2-3 feet in the air, and you use that bar to lift your body up. It’s a fairly simple exercise.
Now, let’s say you want to modify this workout because you don’t have access to a bar of any sort. You can substitute pull-ups and body-lifts for sit-ups and squats. By doing this you will also get a full body workout in.
Additional exercises that you may want to include are two-legged explosive jumps, burpees, kettlebell swings, and reverse sit-ups.
You can take this workout and make it as hard as you would like. The concept for this workout is very open and thus can be modified easily. If you want to really push yourself add two more exercises to the routine.
The normal range for rest in a typical workout is 2 minutes. If you’ve been training consistently with the previous four principles, it’s now time to take a look at how much you’ve been resting between each set. The idea is to gradually decrease your workouts. The following is a 7-week plan to get your 2-minute rest period down to 30 seconds:
Week One - 120 seconds
Week Two: - 105 seconds
Week Three: - 90 seconds
Week Four - 75 seconds
Week Five - 60 seconds
Week Six - 45 seconds
Week Seven - 30 seconds
• If you feel as though you’re getting too tired during your workouts, or if your form is going bad, then correct the issues before decreasing your rest periods further.
The idea is to move faster within your workout. Supersets have been used for years to enhance the intensity of their workouts. Here’s how I would use them in our sample program:
Superset – Two exercises performed one right after each other without any rest. You may rest only after both exercises are completed, and then repeat the superset for the desired amount of sets.
Tri-set – Three exercises performed one right after each other without any rest. You may rest only after all exercises are completed, then repeat the tri-set for the desired amount of sets.
Circuit – Four or more exercises performed one right after each other without any rest. You may rest only after all exercises are completed, then repeat the circuit for the desired amount of sets.
• Notice that I have not prescribed supersets with any of the major lifts or lower body exercises. Doing so would prove to be too intense and may risk injury, as I do not know the fitness level of my readers.
Time your workout with the superset method, and then compare it to your previous workout. Guarantee you’d have shaved off some time!
