This is part two of the Program.  We covered nutrition and now we are going to go over working out.  There are seven different workouts that I do and they typically overlap.  Five are weights (1-chest and arms, 2-back and shoulders, 3-core, 4-legs and 5-kettle bells) and two are cardio (6-treadmill and elliptical and 7-KM strike drills).

  Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?

Run in such a way that you may win.

1 Corinthians 9:24

My current workout regiment is a little unusual right now compared to the past, so I suggest that you tailor this to your schedule and needs.  Currently I do cardio and core six or seven days a week and weights five or six days a week.  I alternate upper body-1, lower body, upper body-2 in three day intervals and then rest a day.  I never do two uppers back to back because of crossover lifting which is basically when you get the ancillary training of muscle groups you are not targeting.  I work in Kettle Bells three days a week and I work in strike drills two days a week.

I have been trying to get to a 100% month for about 18 months, but things kept coming up and I’d miss a workout.  This time I hit 100% in October and decided to keep going until I need a rest.  I know that my schedule won’t always afford me time to do this, so during this time of preparation I am making the most of it.

My goal is to be done in two hours or less and can typically hit 90 minutes with no dilly dallying.  Those two hours typically consist of 45-60 minutes of cardio/core and 45-60 minutes of lifting.

So a typical workout looks like this:

Treadmill 30 minutes

Core Exerecises: Ab crunch, Ab torso rotations, Cable trunk rotations push and pull, Cable wood chops.

Weightlifting: Either upper body or lower body, never both on the same day.

Elliptical 15, 20 or 30 minutes depending on how much time I have left

KM Strike Drills (15 minutes, High Impact) or Kettle Bells depending on time.

Below is a more detailed list of exercises by body segment.  I typically do not get all of these sets completed in the allotted time.

 

Chest: flat bench, incline press, decline press, pec fly, and cable press.  Sometimes I do barbells and sometimes I do dumbbells.

Arms:  curls, tricep extensions, tricep pushdowns, tricep cable pulls

Back: Seated row, back extension, front pull down, high row pull down, lat pull down

Shoulders: Military press, lateral raises, Cable shoulder row, Cable pull down

Legs: Curls, leg press, leg extensions, calf extensions, bent leg calf extensions, glute push extensions

Core: Ab crunch, ab rotation, quadraplex, cable trunk rotation, cable wood chop both directions, cable trunk rotations.

When I lift, I will do sets of higher weight for strength building and lower weight with more reps for endurance, definition and form.  Once a month I do a “MAX” night to see how much weight I can do for each lift.  This tells me if I am getting stronger.  Usually two reps for each Max set tells me I can actually do it.  Max night is a good night to crank up the high adrenaline music.  I have found that the right music provides the mental stimulation and a burst of emotional energy to summons the strength to defeat the weight.  Music is a powerful instrument for achieving maximum strength and speed.

Kettle bells:  I have a love/hate relationship with Kettle bells.  I do not look forward to them, but when I am done, I am glad we had that time together.  I do a number of things with KBs for strength and agility including bi-directional rotations, figure 8s, left and right lunges, tension extensions and I am always seeing folks try new things with them, so I will usually try it to see if it does anything.

KM Strike Drills:  These are hitting and kicking drills that I have learned in my Israeli Krav Maga classes which is largely a self-defense, diffusion approach to fighting.  They are combinations of punches, elbows, knees, kicks and footwork.  This is usually my time to practice what I learned in class that week as well as do basic training.  I am including a separate post on KM soon.

Items of Note:

All weight lifting is either pushing or pulling weight, so I try and be mindful of a balance of these two for preservation of joints and ligaments.

Form and posture are much more important than the amount of weight being moved.  Finding my center of gravity, not straining my spine, and maintaining good balance are all important.  When you have good form and isolate muscle groups, you will find you are not as strong as you think you are, but you will see results quicker and actually build strength.

Breathing is important and I see many people forget to breath when lifting.  Inhale at the start and exhale when you reverse motion.  Our bodies are designed as a bunch of systems that work best together and the respiratory system provides a lot of support to muscular, skeletal and blood systems when lifting weights.  If you find it difficult to breath properly while lifting, you need to use lighter weight.

So that is it, that’s my workout.  Nothing else to add at this point.  Oh, I do twelve reps plus one, so 13 reps per set unless I am doing lite weight, then 16 which is 17.  Oh, and gloves with wrist wraps helps my form along with Copperwear compression sleeves.  And I wear a beanie when I lift because it keeps my head warm and people are afraid talk to me when I am wearing it which is kind of nice when you want to focus.  Alright, I hope this is helpful.