Best Body Workout – 2012 – Week 1 – Day 1

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NOTE- As I said in yesterday’s post, I designed this workout for ALL levels of trainees – beginner to pro.

I think I have done a good job of it, but there is a chance that I screwed it up….Is it too complex for beginners to understand…and/or to simplistic for advanced trainees??? 

I would appreciate any & all feedback – be merciless.

WORKOUT WARM-UP

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

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

1 Arm Swing Snatch - 25 reps per arm  – Dumbbell or kettlebell – choose a light weight – the goal is to warm-up

THE WORKOUT

• This workout consists of 4 Supersets
• Each Superset is made up of 2 exercises
• Each Superset is performed for 5 minutes
• Each Superset is to be performed 1-2 times – for a total of 20-40 minutes
• 1 time for beginners and/or high intensity athletes
• 2 times for experienced and/or endurance based athletes

Superset #1 – Goblet Squats & Fat Bar Hangs

• Perform the following 2 exercises back to back for 5 minutes
• Set a timer…watching a clock doesn’t work very well
• Keep rest periods as short as possible

Exercise #1 – Goblet Squat

• Choose a weight you could perform 10-20 reps with
• 10 rep weight for strength – 20 rep weight for endurance – your call
• Perform 5 reps per set – controlled 0n the way down and quick/powerful on the way up.

Exercise #2 - Thick Bar Hangs

• Hang from a thick bar until the first sensation that your grip might be slipping.
• At the gym, you can create a thick bar by wrapping a towel around a chin-up bar or using a set of Fat Gripz.
• My less powerful clients hang a stretch band from the chin-up bar and put their knee in it to remove some of their body-weight from the exercise.
• Make it hard to grip the bar – I want you falling within 30 seconds
• When I do outdoor workouts, I use a tree for this exercise.

Superset #2 – Ab Wheel Roll-Outs & Front Delt Raises

• Perform the following 2 exercises back to back for 5 minutes
• Set a timer…watching a clock doesn’t work very well
• Keep rest periods as short as possible

Exercise #1 - Ab Wheel Roll-Outs

• Body-Weight only
• Perform 5 reps per set – controlled 0n the way out and quick/powerful on the way back in.
• This can also be done with a barbell, suspension trainer or even a rope tied to an overhead tree branch

Exercise #2 - Kneeling Front Delt Raises

• Choose a weight you could perform 10-20 reps with
• 10 rep weight for strength – 20 rep weight for endurance - your call
• Perform 5 reps per set
• For this exercise, I want you to perform both phases of the movement in a controlled manner 
• Unlike the guy in the video, I want you to perform this exercise in a kneeling position

Superset #3 – Pulldowns & Lower Back Pulldowns

• Perform the following 2 exercises back to back for 5 minutes
• Set a timer…watching a clock doesn’t work very well
• Keep rest periods as short as possible

Exercise #1 - Pulldowns

• Choose a weight you could perform 10-20 reps with
• 10 rep weight for strength – 20 rep weight for endurance - your call
• Perform 5 reps per set - controlled 0n the way up and quick/powerful on the way down.
• Vary grip & hand spacing throughout the 5 minutes
• You can substitute band pulldowns or assisted / non-assisted chins

Exercise #2 - Lower Back Extensions using the Pulldown Machine

•  Choose a weight you could perform 10-20 reps with
• 10 rep weight for strength – 20 rep weight for endurance - your call
• Perform 5 reps per set
• For this exercise, I want you to perform both phases of the movement in a controlled manner
• Unlike the guy in the video, I want you to use the pulldown machine
• I want you to focus intensely on those lower back muscles – don’t just drop back – pull yourself back using your lower back
• You can substitute bands for the cable stack or reverse hypers

Superset #4 – Backward Cable Walks & Standing Straight Arm Rows

• Perform the following 2 exercises back to back for 5 minutes
• Set a timer…watching a clock doesn’t work very well
• Keep rest periods as short as possible

Exercise #1 - Backward Cable Walks

• Walk backwards as far as the cable allows – that’s 1 rep
• Choose a weight you could perform 10-20 reps with
• 10 rep weight for strength – 20 rep weight for endurance - your call
• Perform 5 reps per set - controlled as you walk towards the cable stack and quick/powerful on the way away from it.
• Watch your balance with this one
• Instead of using the belt, you can just hold onto the rope handle you’re using for the Standing Straight Arm Rows
• You can substitute bands for the cable or sled/tire drags

Exercise #2 - Horizontal Cable Shrugs (seated or standing)

• Choose a weight you could perform 10-20 reps with
• 10 rep weight for strength – 20 rep weight for endurance - your call
• Perform 5 reps per set - controlled as you release the handles towards the cable stack and quick/powerful as you pull them towards your upper belly
• I prefer doing this standing as it makes the transition to the Backward Cable Walks simpler.
• You can substitute bands of use your bodyweight like a bodyweight row.

Alright…that’s all the lifting we’re doing today.

Stretch out your muscles, grab some steam and go have a life.

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