My Latest Workout

The follwing is my latest workout program.  It consists of three separate workouts that I do once each per week – typically Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday.  This is more of a muscle building program.  Last week was my first time through, and I have been really sore.

Day 1

Week 1:  3 sets of 15
Week 2:  4 sets of 10
Week 3:  3 sets of 12
Week 4:  4 sets of 6-8

A1)  Dumbbell Flat Bench Press
A2)  Cable Rows

B1)  Incline Flies
B2)  Bent-Over Lateral Raise, Thumbs Down

C1)  Dumbbell Curls
C2)  Dumbbell Skull Crushers

D1)  Hammer Curls
D2)  Dumbbell Tricep Kickbacks
D3)  Standing Cable Crunches

Day 2

Week 1:  4 sets of 10
Week 2:  3 sets of 15
Week 3:  4 sets of 6-8
Week 4:  3 sets of 12

A1)  Walking Lunges
A2)  Dumbbell Shoulder Press

B1)  Bulgarian Split Squats
B2)  Arnold Press

C1)  Single-Arm Shrugs
C2)  Wrist Roller
C3)  Hanging Leg Raises

Day 3

Week 1:  3 sets of 15
Week 2:  4 sets of 10
Week 3:  3 sets of 12
Week 4:  4 sets of 6-8

A1)  Dumbbell Incline Bench Press
A2)  Face Pulls

B1)  Flat Flies
B2)  Cable Shrugs

C1)  Dumbbell Preacher Curls
C2)  Cable Tricep Extensions with Straight Bar
C3)  Ab Roller

My current workout program has four separate workouts that I have been doing four days a week.  It is a strength based workout, and I have been enjoying it.

Day 1

A) Squats:
Weeks 1 and 2:  5 sets of 4
Week 3:  6 sets of 4
Weeks 4 and 5:  7 sets of 3

Superset with rest
B1) Overhead Squat:  3 sets of 12
B2) Dynamic Push-Ups:  3 sets of 12

C) Side Bridges:  3 sets of 30 to 60 seconds each side

Day 2

Superset with rest
A1) Barbell Bench Press
A2) Cable Rows
Weeks 1 and 2:  5 sets of 4
Week 3:  6 sets of 4
Weeks 4 and 5:  7 sets of 3

Superset with rest
B1) Close-Grip Lat Pulldown:  3 sets of 8
B2) Barbell Shoulder Press:  3 sets of 8

C) Lower-Body Russian Twist:  3 sets of 12

Day 3

A) Speed Deadlifts
Weeks 1 and 2:  5 sets of 4
Week 3:  6 sets of 4
Weeks 4 and 5:  7 sets of 3

Superset with rest
B1) Romanian Deadlifts:  3 sets of 8
B2) Static Lunges:  3 sets of 8

C) Bridges:  3 sets of 30 to 60 seconds

Day 4

Superset with rest
A1) Chin-Ups
A2) One-Arm Dumbbell Push Press
Weeks 1 and 2:  5 sets of 4
Week 3:  6 sets of 4
Weeks 4 and 5:  7 sets of 3

Superset with rest
B1) Neutral-Grip Incline Dummbbell Bench Press:  3 sets of 8
B2) Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldowns:  3 sets of 8

C) Reverse Woodchop:  3 sets of 12

This is the second part of my latest workout, and I will alternate it with Part 1.  Each workout will be completed 6 times, which should take about 3 to 4 weeks to get through.  After this phase, which is focused on fat loss, I plan to go on more of a muscle building phase.

The first giant set is done for 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps with no rest except for 60 seconds after each giant set.

A1) Front Squats
A2) Chin-Ups
A3) Step-Ups
A4) Dumbbell Push Press

The next giant set is only done twice with 20 reps and the same rest period as above.

A1) Squats (regular)
A2) Wide-Grip Lat Pulldowns
A3) Step-Ups
A4) Dumbbell Shoulder Press

The workout is then finished with the following ab exercise.

C1) Swiss Ball Crunches, 2 sets of 10

This workout is also very difficult. I find Part 1 to be more challenging, and I think it’s because of the Bulgarian split squats. My nickname for those is “pain”. They really get my legs burning. However, this workout is only slightly less difficult than the first part.

Late last week I started another workout phase. These workouts use giant sets, and they are really intense. The goal is fat loss, so the rest periods are very short. There are two workouts that I will alternate for 3 to 4 workouts per week.

Part 1 consists of the following:

The first giant set is done for 4 sets of 10 to 12 reps with no rest except for 60 seconds after each giant set.

A1) Deadlifts
A2) Explosive Push-Ups
A3) Bulgarian Split Squats
A4) Dumbbell Rows

The next giant set is only done twice with 20 reps and the same rest period as above.

A1) Deadlift Off Box
A2) Dumbbell Bench Press
A3) Walking Lunge With Side Bend
A4) Cable Seated Row

The workout is then finished with the following ab exercise.

C1) Hanging Leg Raises, 2 sets of 10-12

This workout is insanely difficult. I often don’t make it to the full 20 reps on the last two giant sets. I still do interval cardio after lifting weights; however, with this workout, I do not have the capacity to workout as hard as I have been after other weight workouts.

The following is Part 2 of my new workout.  It looks like I’ve got some sort of Southeastern Europe / Russian thing going on here, but this is an intense workout.  By the time I get through with the split squats, I’m pretty fried.

Part 2 consists of the 3 supersets below:

Superset with full rest (60 seconds rest between each set)
A1) Deadlift: 3 sets of 15
A2) Incline Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets of 15

Superset with full rest (60 seconds rest between each set)
B1) Bulgarian Split Squat: 3 sets of 15
B2) Mixed-Grip Lat Pulldown: 3 sets of 15

Superset with full rest (60 seconds rest between each set)
C1) Romanian Deadlift (Stiff-Legged Deadlift): 3 sets of 15
C2) Russian Twists: 3 sets of 20

Cardio: intervals on either the recumbant bike or elliptical trainer

Yesterday, I started a new workout phase.  This program consists of 2 workouts that I will alternate for 3 to 4 workouts per week.  I will post the second part of the program after I complete that workout.

Part 1  consists of the 3 supersets below:

Superset with full rest (60 seconds rest between each set)
A1) Squats: 3 sets of 15
A2) Seated Cable Rows: 3 sets of 15

Superset with full rest (60 seconds rest between each set)
B1) Back Extensions: 3 sets of 15
B2) Dumbbell Power Press: 3 sets of 15

Superset with full rest (60 seconds rest between each set)
C1) Walking Lunge With a Twist (Rotational Lunge): 3 sets of 15
C2) Swiss Ball Crunches: 3 sets of 20

Cardio: 20 minutes of interval on the elliptical trainer

There has been a lot of talk about the workout Gerard Butler used to get into shape for the movie 300. The workout was generated by Mark Twight and consisted of 300 total repetitions from a variety of exercises. The actors and stuntmen trained for 8 – 10 weeks at Twight’s gym, Gym Jones in Saslt Lake City. The gym has no air conditioning, no mirrors, and no chairs to sit in. 300 star, Gerard Butler, trained for 12 weeks there.

The goal of the training program was to sculpt the body into something that personifies a Spartan warrior. Several how-to videos have been generated including an instructional DVD.

The cast of 300 did not do this workout during their normal training. It was a sort of invitation only, graduation after their weeks of hard training. After four months, only 17 people had completed the 300 workout, which was about 50% of the cast. A good video from Twight can found here.

The workout is to be performed in series with no rest between each exercise. The following is the 300 workout:

• 25 pull-ups
• 50 deadlifts with 135lbs
• 50 push-ups
• 50 box jumps with a 24-inch box
• 50 “floor wipers” (video)
• 50 “clean and press” with 36lbs (video)
• 25 pull-ups

A decent video of the sequence can be found here.

Circuit training can be an effective technique for losing fat, and I think it is something that should be given a shot. However, I do not think the 300 workout is a good program for the average person. It may be something to strive for after several months of hard training if you want the bragging rights.

This article is also featured on Wellsphere – Wellsphere: 300 Workout

References: WebMD, Alwyn Cosgrove’s blog , Gerard Butlers Angels (image)

Since I already posted the first half of my workout program, I figured that I would post the rest of it. I plan to alternate these two workouts 3-4 times per week for about 4 weeks.

Here is what I did this morning:

A) Deadlift: 3 sets of 10, 60 seconds rest between sets

Superset with full rest (60 seconds rest between each set)
B1) Walking Lunges: 3 sets of 10 (each leg)
B2) One-Arm Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 12

Superset with full rest
C1) Close-Grip Lat Pulldown: 3 sets of 10
C2) Swiss Ball Crunches: 3 sets of 12

Cardio:
Exercise Bike: 4 minute warm-up, 12 minutes of intervals, 4 minute cool down

I don’t plan to post my workouts often, but I figured some people may want to see what I have been up to. Last week was my first time in a gym in over 4 months. I had been working two jobs, and I just didn’t have the time or energy to get in there. However, I am getting back into the swing of things and hoping to lose a lot of weight before the summer.

Here is what I did yesterday:

A) Barbell Squat: 3 sets of 10, 60 seconds rest between sets

Superset with full rest (60 seconds rest between each set)
B1) Barbell Split Squats: 2 sets of 10
B2) 2-point Dumbbell Row with Elbow Out: 2 sets of 10

Superset with full rest
C1) Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets of 10
C2) Leg Pull-Ins on End of Bench: 3 sets of 10
C3) Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 10

Cardio:
Exercise Bike: 3 minute warm-up, 10 minutes of intervals, 2 minute cool down

Next week I plan to keep the weight about the same and add reps. I also plan to add a third set to the first superset. This is more of a break-in phase for me, and after 3-4 weeks I plan to do more of a fat burning workout.