Your Best Body Workout – 2011 – Week 8 – Day 1

PHASE 1

Warm-Up

5 Minutes of the following 4 Mobility Exercises:

1.  Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

2.  Rolling Like A Ball

4.  Lateral Lunges

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5 Minutes of the following Muscle Warm-Up Exercises

I am going to list a bunch of exercises. You choose which ones you want to do….remembering that the goal is to warm up the muscles and make them pliable and ready to handle the following workout

• 1 Arm Swing Snatch – Dumbbell or kettlebell – choose a light weight – the goal is to warm-up
• Bodyweight Squat
• Step-Ups
• Burpees
• Push – Ups
• BW Rows
• Jumping Chins
• Shuffle Lunges

PHASE 2

The HIRT Workout v2.0

HIRT Superset #1

• 2 exercises per superset
• 10 minutes per superset
• NO REST between sets
• Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 reps (20RM)
• Perform 10 reps per set (unless stated otherwise)
• Perform the “work” part of each exercise as quickly and powerfully as possible

• Prior to each “work” set, I want you to either:

1. Do a 2-5 reps of a light weight, explosive exercise which works the same muscles as the work set (ex. jumping up & down before doing squats), OR
2. Do a very strong isometric (non moving) version of the work set exercise for 2-3 seconds before performing the work set.(ex. pushing against a wall before a bench press)

This will get your nervous system all charged up and help you perform better on the work set.

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Hip Thrust

• 20 reps per set @ 40RM weight
• Barbell, Smith Machine, Bands or Cable (standing version)

For the neural activation warm-up exercise, I would recommend 5 reps of BW Hip Thrusts where you try to explode up quickly so that your feet leave the ground.

Alternative work exercise – Glute-Ham Raises.

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Toes to the Sky

• 10 reps per set
• BW
• do these flat on the floor/bench wherever you are doing the hip thrusts
• Slow down the movement on the way back down to the floor – continue normal speed on the way up to the ceiling

No neural activation warm-up exercise.

Alternative work exercise –  Ab Wheel Roll-Outs

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HIRT Superset #2

• 2 exercises per superset
• 10 minutes per superset
• NO REST between sets
• Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 reps (20RM)
• Perform 10 reps per set (unless stated otherwise)
• Perform the “work” part of each exercise as quickly and powerfully as possible

• Prior to each “work” set, I want you to either:

1. Do a 2-5 reps of a light weight, explosive exercise which works the same muscles as the work set (ex. jumping up & down before doing squats), OR
2. Do a very strong isometric (non moving) version of the work set exercise for 2-3 seconds before performing the work set.(ex. pushing against a wall before a bench press)

BW Chins/Pullups

• 10 reps per set @ 10RM weight
• Slow down the negative portion of the exercise to be twice as slow as the “coming up” part of the lift
• if you can’t do 10 BW Chins, use an exercise band to help reduce your weight
• Alternate grips between sets – palms in / palms out / Neutral

For the neural activation warm-up exercise, I would recommend 5 reps of Band Overhead Pull-Aparts or 2-3 reps of jumping chins or 2-3 reps of light band pull-downs.

No alternative exercise, so suck it up buttercup.

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Alternating DB Press

• 10 reps per arm per set @ 20RM weight
• Standing or Seated – your choice – I prefer standing

For the neural activation warm-up exercise, I would recommend 2-3 reps of light band explosive DB Presses.

Alternative work exercise – DB Side/Lateral Raises – same rep scheme

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HIRT Superset #3

• 2 exercises per superset
• 10 minutes per superset
• NO REST between sets
• Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 reps (20RM)
• Perform 10 reps per set (unless stated otherwise)
• Perform the “work” part of each exercise as quickly and powerfully as possible

• Prior to each “work” set, I want you to either:

1. Do a 2-5 reps of a light weight, explosive exercise which works the same muscles as the work set (ex. jumping up & down before doing squats), OR
2. Do a very strong isometric (non moving) version of the work set exercise for 2-3 seconds before performing the work set.(ex. pushing against a wall before a bench press)

Lunge – BW, DBs or if available…attach yourself to a cable stack via a dipping belt worn on the hips

• 10 reps per leg per set @ 20RM weight
• If your knees hate the front lunge, step backwards into a reverse lunge
• Alternating step length will shift focus from quads (short step) to glutes/hams (long step)

For the neural activation warm-up exercise, I would recommend 6-10 reps of Explosive Shuffle Lunges.

Alternative work exercise – Bulgarian Split Squat/Lunge

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Standing Bridge

• 30 seconds per leg per set

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HIRT Superset #4

• 2 exercises per superset
• 10 minutes per superset
• NO REST between sets
• Choose a weight that would allow you to perform 20 reps (20RM)
• Perform 10 reps per set (unless stated otherwise)
• Perform the “work” part of each exercise as quickly and powerfully as possible

• Prior to each “work” set, I want you to either:

1. Do a 2-5 reps of a light weight, explosive exercise which works the same muscles as the work set (ex. jumping up & down before doing squats), OR
2. Do a very strong isometric (non moving) version of the work set exercise for 2-3 seconds before performing the work set.(ex. pushing against a wall before a bench press)

2 Arm Chest Press

• 10 reps per set @ 20RM weight
• Incline/Flat/Decline – your choice
• DBs, BB, Bands or even machine if necessary

For the neural activation warm-up exercise, I would recommend 5 reps of explosive push-ups

Alternative work exercise – 1 Arm DB Chest Press or 2 Arm DB Flys

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Bodyweight Row

• 10 reps per set
• BW or BW + weighted vest
• Slow the negative/lowering part of the lift to twice as slow as the positive/lifting phase

For the neural activation warm-up exercise, I would recommend 5 reps of explosive band rows or 3 seconds of an isometric row where you pull on an immovable object

Alternative work exercise – Band or Cable Rows – standing

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HIRT Superset #5 - optional

Repeat one of the first 4 Supersets – your choice

HIRT Superset #6 - optional

Repeat one of the first 4 Supersets – your choice

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PHASE 3

10 minutes of DIY

• If you really want to lose weight, spend 10 minutes doing some HIITsprints on an exercise bike. I would recommend 10 sprints with a 10 sec ON : 50 sec OFF ratio
• If you want to buff up those biceps, hit the curls for 10 minutes
• If your hip flexors are really tight, put in 10 minutes stretching them along with your quads and lower lumbars.
• And if your goal is power & strength, spend 10 minutes doing static holds or partial lifts

PHASE 4

Stretching – minimum 10 minutes

Focus on the muscles you just worked, plus the ones that are tight on just about everyone….hip flexors, calves, hamstrings, chest, neck & traps

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New workouts posted for Wednesday and Friday.

Thurs, Sat & Sun are up to you.

It all depends on your goals

• If your main goal is strength & power, you will perform Neural Recharge workouts –Here is a sample workout
• If you want to improve your cardio, do cardio
• If you want to improve your flexibility, do a yoga class or stretch
• If you want to have fun while exercising, take a class, play a sport, etc…
• But, NO SERIOUS LIFTING on your off days. You’ll screw up your recovery.

You can also rest on those off days. These 3 workouts are pretty intense and will do a lot on their own.

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