Tag Archives: Strength training

To strength train or not to strength train: It’s not really a question

Last week a very close friend of mine came to ask for the same thing he usually does: I need a routine he said, I need to start doing something: what can you give me? After several questions I sat down to write in a napkin his new, shiny and of course, repeated routine that he would, again, never use. He claimed he needed only to run and jog to get to his all-around health and fat-loss goals (to which I asked: then why the f*** did you just ask me a new one if you already “know” what to do?! But that’s neither here or there). The answer I gave to him as to why I told him to strength train is exposed (and much better structured) in this post.

Why you need to strength train

Bear in mind, I’m not talking competitive lifting. Especially in regards to health.

It has a larger carryover to all other attributes

Endurance, power, speed and even flexibility should be built from a foundation of strength. You can’t endure if you don’t

Handbalancing, strength train to get strong enough

Hand balancing moves: great feats of balance, only achievable by having enough strength to keep the position

have anything to endure on. If you can’t move something there’s no chance that you’ll move it fast, the same goes for running. And, if you can’t reach somewhere with strength, then there’s no really a point to it, is there? (but kidding aside, just get strong).

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you’ll be breaking world records in marathon running if you solely train for strength. But, you will get more endurance from strength training than strength from working on your endurance. I don’t know if it’s because the relative intensity of other things will be lower, but it works.

Aesthetics

I don’t care if this rates high or low for you, but, relative to body-composition, barring people with health concerns, the goal is mainly for looks. Well, strength training will help build lean muscle mass (not bodybuilder sizes), which in turn will raise your basal metabolism, which will, In turn, burn more calories while you’re resting. This of course, will mean less fat under the same amount of calories consumed. This is especially true for beginners (which my friend most certainly is).

Health

I’m talking about muscle and joint health. As long as you are being consistent and making slow improvements, the low rep approach keeps the joints from being overworked in any range of motion.

By this I am most certainly not saying that other types of exercises are not healthy. All exercise is healthy, if done as it should be, I simply believe that strength training is healthier for the joints and muscles. Cardiovascular health is better addressed with other types of training.

Motivation

This is more personal based than any other thing. But truth be told, there’s little things more invigorating than moving constantly heavier weights or do more complex moves. It was, during a whole year, one of the things that compelled me to keep coming back to the weight room (I was doing PTTP, and the constant adding of weight does wonders for the self-image). Besides, it’s also very cool to still have energy to celebrate the accomplishment and not just smiling while picking up your lungs from the ground.

How to strength train

How often should you do it

This Is one of the most asked questions “how often should/can I work out”. As I’ve said several times before, I’m biased to higher frequency types of training, but you’ll do fine with just 3 times a week (or even two). As long as your overall volume and intensity are balanced you can even practice up to 7 times a week, although this may be too much for most. Try to keep it between 3 and 5 weekly sessions.

Exercises that must be there

This will be no rocket science, only multi-joint exercises apply to these categories.

  • Upper body push
  • Upper body pull
  • A knee bend (SQUAT)
  • A hip hinge
  • Core
  • A carry

You can even divide the upper body into vertical and horizontal pushes and pulls. I don’t care, have at least one of the main categories and you’ll be balanced enough. Any other exercise you may want to do that’s not included in your list before will be tagged as assistance exercise, and their function is either to help build strength for those exercises or to strengthen one of your weaknesses.

Understand that if you’re doing bodyweight only exercises the carry should be done either with an external implement or, switch it with sprints or crawls. If you’re KB exclusive, your hip-hinges will be more ballistic based, and your core exercises should be either windmills or TGUs.

How to incorporate strength training to other types of training

There’s not really a best way to go about this, but will depend more on your context and how you’re working out, just remember that resting is a serious matter and should not be overlooked.

The easiest way would be to add at least 2 exclusive strength training sessions to your week. Make it low volume and go

Carry, whatever, just carry heavy stuff. Photo by Carol Browne

Carry, whatever, just carry heavy stuff. Photo by Carol Browne

through all the movements, doing at least 3 sets for each. Repeat the workout or add weight in the next session.

If by chance you can’t add any more session a week, add 2 completely unrelated movements to your workouts. Push+hinge/pull+squat/Core+carry has worked pretty well for me before.

And that’s about it. I’d love to hear your take on things, so drop a line at the comment section below!

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The same but different: variation with a purpose

Variation is a fickle lady. Woo her correctly and she will bless you with great progress and advancements in strength, technique, endurance, conditioning, etc. etc. etc. Get on her bad side and you’ll be stuck in the same spot, forever being a newbie, without enjoying the fabled newbie gains. So, let’s do it correctly.

The many ways to change things

There’s many changes you can do to your regular workouts, from subtle changes to more drastic measures. You can change

  • Exercises
  • Rest periods
  • Frequency
  • Volume
  • Intensity

Why you should vary your training

There are several reasons why you should change things up in your training. Basically, you’ve adapted to what you’re doing, you’ve plateaued or you’ve become bored.

You’ve adapted

You’re not getting the stimulus you need from what you’re doing. You should change it. Not drastically, but enough to provoke new growth.

You’ve plateaued

Time to change. If things are not moving forward then they’re moving backwards. Go for a variant of the exercise, or change one of the variables. Maybe even take a longer rest from this type of work. There are many ways to bust a plateau.

You’ve become bored

This one’s tough. This one calls for drastic changes. If you’re bored with your training you should revise your goals first. If you’re still aiming for the same things then maybe change the way you’re doing it drastically. Remember to have fun!

Goblet Squat, Squat, Beginner squat

Goblet squat, one of the best beginner squats in existence. Photo by US Army Central

Why you shouldn’t change your training

There’s also many reasons why not to change what you’re doing.

Too much variation will lead you no-where

Remember to change things up smartly: changing too much too often will lead you no-where. You won’t adapt to the stimulus enough to become (insert goal here).

Muscle confusion is not really a thing

I like to say that if you confuse your muscles too much then they won’t know what they should do! Of course I exaggerate, but I do believe that they won’t know what to adapt to, hence, they’ll give up and simply not adapt at all. All that you should be focused on is the goal at hand. (BTW, of course you’ll never plateu if you’re constantly confusing your muscles, basically because you’ll never get strong enough to plateau in the first place!).

Yep, go ahead shocking the muscles you shocker you!

Yep, go ahead shocking the muscles you shocker you!

How to vary the correct way

As the title conveys, doing the same but different has great results, you’ll keep getting better at what you’re doing for one. Always remember to keep your goals in mind when you’re doing this.

Changing intensity

Going heavier or lighter will change the type of adaptations your body will go through. Going lighter will get you better rested, and building back-up will get you stronger. Sometimes screwing volume to get some real heavy work done will get CNS jacked and yourself stronger in the short run.

Changing Volume

Adding reps, reducing reps, adding sets, reducing sets, or sometimes both. This may be the ticket to bridging between where you are and where you want to be.

Changing Frequency

As I said in another post, doing a little every day can get a long way. I like HFT. It helps me improve by greasing the groove. Getting better at the movement allows me to get stronger in the movement, and to get more efficient at lifting certain ways. (Also, the fabled farm-boy strength comes from daily manual labor, and usually not to the max).

Changing the exercises

This is what we do when we go through exercise progressions (and it’s not exclusive to bodyweight). Going for similar, harder exercises is a great way to keep improving strength. Likewise, going for easier variations helps you focus on the weaknesses of your forms, put more volume and get a good rest. You can look at variations for bodyweight exercises here, here and here. But, for an illustrative case, you could first master the goblet squat – Front squat – Box squat – Back squat (See, there are ways to make this variations with weights :D).

All of this will depend on your goals of course. I cannot stress this enough.

How I vary my workouts

My routine is mainly consistent. I have my goals and change things accordingly. Right now I’m quite focused on getting down the freestanding handstand, front lever, back lever and V-sit. I’m going through exercise progressions and regressions (changing the exercises accordingly).

So, for handbalancing I’m doing as Coach Sommers dictates in Handstand One, for all other exercises I’m following Steven Low’s Overcoming Gravity (Amazon affiliate link – It’s a great source of information if you’re into bodyweight training)

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How to workout for busy people – Muscle mass focus

On this 4th part of the how to workout for busy people (part 1, part 2, part 3) I’ll focus on building muscle mass. It’s not easy, and don’t expect to Arnold-out in a couple of months.

What makes gaining mass hard

Barring pharmaceutical help, gaining mass is a complex science/art. There’s several types of hypertrophy which take in

Photo by Brian Auer

Photo by Brian Auer

account different volumes, rep ranges and intensities. More over, building lean muscle mass takes a lot more than just training. The simple formula would be

Eating at a surplus + plenty of rest + working out = more lean muscle mass

And that’s without factoring in hormonal profiles, etc. Of course, this is as simple as I can make it. Focusing on the working out part, the main variable here will be volume (meaning, how much you put up in total). Of course, given that we’re busy people, we’ll focus on density. Density will be taken in acount as volume/time. (BTW, I was introduced to density as a variable through Pavel’s Enter the Kettlebell, so I’m going to pretty much use that definition).

Building muscle for busy people

This whole idea was introduced by Charles Staley (although it’s probably much much older, as most things in the physical training department… Even bro culture), so, full props to him for being a genius.

For this type of workouts you’ll need, at least, a stopwatch, a piece of paper and something to write.

  1. You’ll pair two antagonist exercises (like Deadlifts and Bench Presses or Squats and Pull-ups).
  2. You’ll set the timer for 15-20 minutes for compound exercises.
  3. Set a weight with which you can do 7-10 solid, correct reps and start doing sets of 5.
  4. Go back and forth between both exercises resting as little as needed. As you fatigue start reducing the reps per set and resting more.
  5. Take note of how many reps in total you’ve done for each exercise. Strive for at least +1 rep every workout.
  6. Once you’ve done 30% more reps than the first session with a given weight, add more weight (2,5-5kg/5-10lbs. no more).
  7. If you still have time after your first 20 minutes (and energy), and insist on adding more exercises. For isolation moves do no more than 10 minutes (pairing curls with tricep extensions, calf raises with wrist exercises… take your pick).
  8. Curse at me. But curse at Charles Staley more, he made EDT (Escalating Density Training… as it’s called) famous. It really is his fault, not mine.

Unfortunately, this type of training works best with a barbell. There’s no way around it. You can use other implements, but truth be told, they won’t be as effective as.

Squat, a complete exercise busy people should never ignore

Any variety of this beautiful exercise should always be in your program. No matter what your goal is.
Photo by US Naval Force Central Command

Share this with busy people you know! With many changes in their lives, their fitness may go to the back burner!

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How to workout for busy people

One thing I regret not doing in the last couple of years is not recording the excuses friends and family have been giving me to not workout. Of course “I don’t have time” is the most common excuse (and “I don’t want to” often the rarest). Most of us know this isn’t true. But what happens when our schedule isn’t going in our favor? Most of us are, after all, busy people.

What happens when time derails?

Usually (and I’m sure you can relate), I’ve got time to work, workout, write this blog, meet with friends, … and even read a

No time to workout

Some aspects of life will get in the way! Photo by Giuseppe Savo

book before bed, getting around 7-8 hours of sleep and feeling happy. But, as I’m sure it has happened to you, sometimes things just won’t fall in place, social life demands more time, work demands more time, and of course, we sacrifice those things that aren’t really a priority, we’re after all, busy people. In most cases (most certainly mine), fitness goes out the window. And this has happened to me during finals, heavier working periods, etc.

Of course, during those moments I didn’t know what I now know. And, being mindful of these things I do have a couple of back-up plans that respond to my goals for such times. I’ve decided I would always have time to practice, so, I’ll practice even in the event of having little time.

In this post, I wanted to share with you these “principles” I keep in mind to build short time effective workouts.

5 Rules for busy people!

Keep your goals in mind!

This is very important, since you’ll have to make decisions based on this.

Cut the fat

Pareto’s principle states that 20% of the efforts deliver 80% of the results. Lean your routine, simplify. What doesn’tbuild to your goals needs to go (this will be temporal after all).

A little every day goes a long way

There’s no reason why you can’t divide your workouts to “a little every day”. Grab your training journal and estimate

Pistol squats: great for busy people looking for a complete leg workout in an exercise

Working out in your apartment is a great time saver for busy people. And the pistol squat are great for a complete leg workout in an exercise

your total weekly volume of those key exercises that lead to achieving your goals. Divide this by 5 or 6, you’ll have a daily goal of sets that you can probably manage better, and in shorter time!

This also works for conditioning

Remember to enjoy it!

Most excuses come in the form of “I don’t have time for that”, when they really mean “I couldn’t give two tugs of a (for the rest, read Metropolitan (awesome comic))”. You’re workout won’t always be fun and you won’t always be motivated. But, if it’s a chore it will be a lot harder to pull off.

Keep it temporal

This is a great strategy to employ in moments of little time. But they can get boring. So, unless you fall in love with this type of training (as I have, and miss it), keep it only for moments that you have to rush it (like finals, life with kids, etc.).

What are the weirdest excuses you’ve heard? Post them in the comment section so we can all have a laugh!

Next post will be featuring a couple of workouts with this in mind, so if you have any particular time restriction, be sure to let me know so I can feature something factoring it!

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Why use kettlebells and 2 workouts

Far from still being the underground turned culty fitness tool that it was half a decade ago, KBs have come into the mainstream. There’s a lot said about how and when to use this tool, and their apparant benefits. All this aside, what I’m happiest about is, I no longer have to describe a cannonball with a handle, most everyone knows what it is.

Why use Kettlebells

The kettlebell is, in my opinion, one of the best tools out there for overall fitness for the everyday Joe and Jane. Kettlebells can and will help you develop

  • Strength: this are the grinding movements

    Kettlebell clean, kettlebell military press, strength training with kettlebells

    Clean the kettlebell strongly, else you’ll bang up your forearm! – Photo by Ken Liu

  • Conditioning: through repetitive ballistics
  • Flexibility: if used wisely
  • Power: Through heavy ballistic excercises
  • Mobility: think windmills and TGUs.

Are they the best tools for each job. Hell no. But they’re good for the development of an all around athlete/enthusiast. And, they’re very easily integrated with other tools.

(I could get into more detail about the advantages of practicing the hip drive or how all these attributes can be trained. But that’s a subject for a book, and not a blog post)

Disadvantages of kettlebells (why not use kettlebells)

They’re not a specialist’s tool. If you want to be the strongest or the most powerful, you can’t beat a barbell. You want to be the most flexible, yoga is your tool. You want to be the best at anything, there are appropiate tools that will let you specialize in each: endurance, flexibility, mobility, strength, hyperthorphy… All can be improved with a KB, but no to the same level as.

So, Why use kettlebells then?

Kettlebells will give you a blend of strength, endurance and power that can’t really be described as “strength-endurance” or “power-endurance” but more as an: ease of being. Having practiced on and off with kettlebells (sometimes my goals are more specialized) I can attest to the fact that any regular task gets easier (like playing football(or soccer) for about two hours with legs that just won’t quit), that joint health increases, and that the grass gets even greener (ok, maybe not that much).

In other words, unless you’re focused on a particular sport, kettlebells are probably the right tool for you.

The Workouts

1) KB solo

This an beginner to intermidiate plan and should be done 3 or 4 times a week. Please keep your recovery in mind. It has an all around focus (if you want to go more frequent, change the number of sets to 3). Don’t ever go to failure!

A1) TGU 3×3

Rest 1-2 minutes between sets. Go heavy, but never to failure.

B1) Clean + Military Press 5×5

B2) KB one arm row 5×5

Rest one minute between each excercise

Kettlebell swing

Expect a healthy sweat! Photo by John Calnan

C1) Goblet Squat 5×5-10

C2) Heavy KB 1H Swings or Snatches 5×5

Rest one minute between each excercise.

D1) Kettlebell 2H swings 5x 15-20

Rest 30″ to 1 minute between sets. Jog in place or jump an imaginary rope.

After this have a cool down with stretches and some mobility work for recovery.

2) KB + Bodyweight

This is an all arounder that will hit each and every movement pattern in the most effective way I know of. Do this 4 times a week.

Day 1

A) TGU 3×3 (can’t beat this baby)

Go heavy. But never to failure. Rest one or two minutes between sets.

B1) KB Clean + Press 5×5

B2) Pullup progression 5×5 (pick one you can do up to 8 reps barely). If this is your pull-up, weight them!

Rest 1 minute between excercises

C1) Goblet Squat 5×5

C2) 1H heavy swings 5×5

Rest one minute between excercises.

D1) Burpees 5x as much as you can with perfect form (I don’t care about speed here, just go as fast as you can while remaining as controlled as you can).

Day 2

A) Handstand holds 3x 50% of your max holding time.

Keep your body straight (or better yet, face the wall and touch it with your chest). Rest one or two minutes between each set.

B1) Push-up progression (or dips) 5×5

B2) KB Row 5×5

Rest 1 minute between each set

C1) Pistol Squat progression 5×5 (use a progression you can do about 8 perfect reps, but not 9)

C2) KB Snatch or 1H heavy swing 5×5

Rest 1 minute between each set

D1) Kettlebell 2H swing 5x as many as you can with perfect form and a solid hip drive.

After you finish each workout, cool down with some stretches and mobility work for recovery.

Conclusion

If you can use them, Kettlebells are a great addition to any fitness program, just be mindful of what your goals are and what you’re looking for. If you want to be a specialist, then the KB is probably not your cuppa. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for all around development to above average, but not elite levels, then by all means, go buy the damned thing!

Shameless advertising bit – where I learned most of kettlebells from

Why use kettlebells

One of the best damn books to get you started, and then some

To finish this post off I’d like to share with you where I learned most kettlebell skills and probably the most important book to have in a kettlebell library. The Russian Kettlebell Challenge (affiliate link). by Pavel Tsatsouline is a golden oldie. Even though there have been several other great books by the same author (Enter the Kettlebell and Simple & Sinister to say the least) this one I believe is the most complete of the three, the only lacking part I found is: there’s no information on the TGU (which later became a staple in both his certifications, and an exercise that one must simply do).

*Note: all the above links are from affiliate programs and will lead you either to Dragondoor or Amazon product pages. Just FYI.

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Frequency + Volume + Intensity: a love triangle

One of the main questions I see in forums, twitter, and facebook when talking about programming is always the same: how often can I workout? The answer to this is always the same: it depends. To effectively answer how frequently you may do it, we should first know how hard, and how much we’ll be doing it.

It all boils down to our love triangle

Intenisty, Volume, Frequency, Training, workout, fitness

Now pick two

Now pick two

Yes, pick two. Barring enhancers, there’s no human way and amateur will be able to sustain a high volume, high intensity, high frequency training regime without burning out sooner rather than later. So you get to pick only two.

Intensity + Volume = High Intensity Training

This is the most common choice we see in most routines. Go tough one time a week. Obliterate the muscles with as much as they can take (think lifting heavy) for as long as they can take it (mid-high sets with low-mid reps). This is what most bodybuilding splits come from: leg day is around 12 sets for the legs in every which way (squats, machines, etc.) till you need a wheelchair to get out of the gym. You’ll be doing this again in around 5-7 days. Next time you go to the gym you’ll obliterate your chest or your arms or your back. You can even go every day to the gym without really upping your frequency.

Think of things you can only do once or twice a week: bodybuilding split, sprints, HIIT, etc.

Intensity + frequency = High frequency Training

This is my absolute favorite. You get to go heavy and often. Think programs likeGTG,PTTP or among the lines. You do a

Deadlift, strength, intensity, volume, frequency, workout, fitness, training

Nothing builds strength and power as a good and heavy Deadlift. Nothing builds injuries as a good and heavy Deadlift done for reps too often. Photo by Tom Woodward

small amount of heavy work with a lot of rest every day (or 5 days a week). Your CNS gets fried, you get no pump but plates in the barbell just keep adding up like crazy. Remember, there’s no going to failure in this scheme.

Think along the lines of strength practice: GTG, PTTP, Pavel’s 40 day workout, most things written by Dan John

Volume + frequency = Endurance work

You won’t be going heavy (remember, heavy depends a lot on the persons capacities, some may think a 300 lb DL is an easy feat, others may feel it’s impossible), so you can take your reps to the higher numbers. Of course, being a high frequency type of training, there’s no way you can go to failure either without really compromising your performance for your next session. Think about someone who goes for a run every day, or someone who walks everywhere or uses his bike to go to work. You’re putting a heck of a workload every day, but it’s a light workload, so you should be able to recover well from practice to practice.

Thin along endurance training, or recovery. I don’t really know much here to give you many details.

How to pick

Think about your goals first.

Are you going for strength? size? endurance? power? Then you pick what best suits you and your way of life. There’s no reason to lie to yourself saying you’ll be doing this every day if your life will get in the way by day 3. You can get strong, big, lean and conditioned with any of the three picks.

 What works best for what:

  • Intensity + Volume: Conditioning + Hypertrophy + Strength
  • Intensity + Frequency: Strength + skill development
  • Volume + Frequency: Conditioning + endurance + flexibility (yep, yogis were right)
  • Diet: Fatloss (sorry, there’s no other way around it)

So take your pick!

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PS: Studies show that the Nº1 way to be awesome is following this blog (just sayin’).

5 reasons your workout should match your lifestyle

Fitness writers, whether they are professionals or amateurs (such as me), enthusiasts or internet gurus, have been telling people how to train, and why they should workout the way they/we say in complete disregard to their lifestyle. To add more to the confusion, they’ll not only tell you how to train, but will offer a myriad of exercises that can (and should) take your brain into meltdown.

I’m calling bullshit.

I do, even though I tell people how they should train as well, giving them ample reasons as to why. Is this wrong? Not necessarily. Are you going to fail reaching your goals? Probably not. Why? Most things will and should work, as long as you know what and why you’re doing them and you keep all other things in context.

Why your workout should meet your lifestyle

1. You’ll have fun

I think this is self explained. You’re not a pro, and seriously, doing something that enriches your life should not be a chore (unless prescribed by a doctor. Health professionals trump everything). Your workout should be challenging, fun and motivating.

Bottom line: your life’s probably hard enough without adding crap. Do something that makes you happy!

2. It’s a personal thing

Skateboard, fun workout, personal workout, relax

Yep, definetly needs grip work!!
Photo by Raul Gomez

Your goals are your own. And you should train to achieve them, you shouldn’t train to achieve what someone else says your goals should be. We may help you design goals in a way that are clear (example: you should define what being fitter means. To you it may mean running 25k in record time, it may mean to jog for 1 hour straight), and help you build towards them.

Bottom line: If you want to look better, GO FOR IT, it’s a completely legit aspiration. Personally, I’ll be getting stronger instead.

3. It will make you consistent

You should be looking forward to your workout. If it feels you with dread or boredom, it won’t be long until you start making excuses not to show up. If there’s anything I learned from my father regarding training is this: THE BEST PROGRAM IS THE ONE YOU’LL ACTUALLY DO (to which I add: in the long run).

Bottom line: enjoying your training will make you look forward to it. Not enjoying it will make you quit

4. It will connect you with like-minded people

As you get better and more exposed to an activity, chances are bigger that you’ll meet like-minded individuals that will motivate you even further. If, for example, I start talking about bouldering to a swimmer, 10 to 1 says he’ll be looking at me with glazed eyes feeling somewhat bored. If I talk about bouldering to a climber, chances are we’ll exchange ideas, tips, and maybe even go bouldering or climbing together at one time or another.

Bottom line: there’s probably many people doing what you enjoy. Joining them will compound results!

5. You’ll have fun

I said this already but it bears repeating. If you’re not enjoying yourself, you won’t be doing it for long.

In a nutshell

There you go, 5 solid reasons why your workouts should match your lifestyle. Train what you enjoy, have fun, and be happy. Chances are there’s enough bull around for you to waste time doing more on purpose.

Now I’m going to go back to suggesting what you should do.

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Bodyweight strength workout for beginners

I’ll keep this one simple and to the point, since that’s what you’re looking for. Mind you, this bodyweight strength workout and progressions are thought for beginners. Intermediate and advanced trainees may find a couple of ideas here, but this won’t really help you progress.

Defining a beginner

Here we will group everyone that isn’t used to bodyweight training. Why? Because there are subtle differences between weight traning and bodyweight training that include the coordination of several muscle groups and the movements in particluar. So, even though you’ll breeze through some sessions until you find your sweet spot, it’s highly recommended you start at the very beginning.

How we’ll test it

We’re going to test it through sheer number of reps. Before you start on this you’ll test yourselves in full bodyweight squats and pushups in one minute. Only good reps count, so take your time, don’t hurry up (think of going as fast as you can go in complete control). You’ll retest yourself at the end of the 6th week. Write down those numbers (both before and after).

What results can you expect?

Even though these will vary for individuals, and as far as body composition goes it will rely on your diet, you can expect some fatloss, muscle growth, conditioning and strength gains, as well as some mobility progress as well. This will depend on each individual, and the fact that you’re beginners will let you gain some of those noob gains. More experienced lifters won’t enjoy so many benefits because, well, your body is already stronger. Of course, your reps will go up, if anything, through sheer practice.

How to do it

This bodyweight strength workout is performed in a circuit. Meaning you’ll perform one exercise right after you finish the one before. After each circuit you’ll rest 2-3 minutes.

Reps: keep them low, 3 to 6, never over 8.

Sets: keep them mid to high, 3 to 5.

Frequency: as often as you like, at least 3x a week, but feel free to go up to 5 if you can take it!

Progression

You’ll be performing exercises until they stop working for you. Basically, once you hit the 10 rep mark in easier exercises it’s safe to start with 3 reps of the next in order of difficulty. Squats, at the beginning, you’ll be doing up until the 20 rep mark. Why? Because I said so. This will vary between individuals, sometimes you’ll have to work longer on a particular progression, so give it time. Remember, this will work for you only if you work on it!

Do this for at least 5 weeks and deload on the 6th!

The Excercises

A Push: Choose one STEP from this list. Start with something that’s challenging enough to let you do 5 quality reps for

The squat. A must in any bodyweight strength workout

The squat. A must in any bodyweight strength workout

one set.

A Pull: Choose one STEP from this list. Start with something that challenges you as the previous.

A Squat: Choose one STEP from this list. Here, start with something that challenges you to get 10 reps.

A Core: You’ll start at Bent Leg raises until you hit 15 reps for 3 sets. Then you’ll go to lying straight leg raises and then you’ll go to hanging knee raises. Change the exercise once you hit 3 sets of 15 reps. Once you manage that start working on Hanging leg raises.

After you finish those exercises you’ll do 5 sets of 1 minute work with 30 seconds rest of one animal form. Choose between bear crawls, ape (my favorite animal form, it’s just plain fun!) and crab walks. Take it easy on them; they are more challenging than they let on.

The Bodyweight Strength Workout in a Nutshell

You’ll do:

  1. A test of pushups and squats. Take down how many reps you can do correctly in a minute (on the first week).
  2. A push + A pull + A squat + a leg for 5 circuits, resting 2 minutes between circuits. Keep it challenging.
  3. You’ll finish with some animal form travelling for 1 minute work with 30 second rests.
  4. Cool down with static stretching.
  5. During the sixth week you’ll do half of the reps per set that you were doing.
  6. At the end of the 6th week you’ll retest yourself. Then you’ll put how many reps you managed in the comment section below!

Now get to work!

Motus Virtute

PS: share with us how you did with it!

An evil Easter workout challenge

Now that easter is here, and most of us are going to do one thing: Binge, and binge on chocolate (I’ll also suggest a good Stout beer to help it go down ;)). So, what can we do about our all out festivity?

Chocolate, Stout.... Together!?!?! Best easter egg EVER!

Chocolate, Stout…. Together!?!?! Best easter egg EVER!

If you haven’t watched lent and restricted you intake (you bad bad person you), you’ll have to earn your meal. So here we go

Evil easter workout challenge

You’ll be doing 6 ladders (one for every week of lent).

5 Burpees

Animal walk

1 Pull-up

5 hanging leg raises

Animal walk

How to do it

On the first ladder you’ll climb up your pull-ups. Up to 10.

On the second ladder you’ll climb your burpees, by two, up to 25.

On the third ladder, you’ll climb your HLRs, by two as well, up to 25.

Then you’ll repeat.

Test your fitness with a workout challenge anywhere and everywhere

Be an animal, be beast!. Photo by Andrew West

You’ll pick two spots, at least 5 meters (around 20 feet), one for your burpees and one with the bar. Pick whatever animal form you want (there’s hundreds to pick, so have fun!) to travel from one point to the other (this is your rest).

If you cannot get to the top rung in the ladder (10 for pull-ups for example), you’re done for the ladder and continue with the next!

Record your time and let us know how you do! This workout challenge will make you miserable for sure, so share the pain!

Motus Virtute

7 reasons why you’ll fail at the gym (or home) – and (a few) resources to succeed

I’ll go straight to the point. And no, you were not wrong, only mislead and probably not doing the research you should’ve.

Not having a clear goal

Lift your hand if you’re training for “General Fitness”. Now, please define what general fitness is. Is it being stronger? Is it being leaner? Is it having bulging hulk like muscles? Is it being able to perform a split? Define what you mean by “General Fitness” before you even approach a gym’s door or start surfing the internet for the greatest routine ever.

This post may help you in defining your goals.

 

Not eating right

I don’t care how much you do, how often, how big, or whatever, if you eat like crap you’ll fail, you’ll get frustrated and

Eat a right, varied and well adjusted diet to get the most out of your efforts! Photo by epSos.de

Eat a right, varied and well-adjusted diet to get the most out of your efforts! Photo by epSos.de

eventually you’ll quit.

Personally, I’ve always been pig-headed and said no to eating well. Of course, thinking back, I would’ve probably gained a lot more taking care of something that’s simple. It what you need, not what you want. Want a (1) cheat meal? Fucking earn it.

Not training for strength

Want to build muscle mass? Get stronger first. Want to get leaner? Clean your diet and get stronger. Want more endurance? Get stronger first. More power? I think you get the point.

Unless you’re doing something very sport specific, strength training should be your go to module always. It’ll bring the best results overall. Mix in some MetCon after it if you still have the energy (you should)

Not being consistent

I’ve said enough about this, and there’s a lot on the matter all over the internet and books. Pick something and stick to it for 10-12 weeks, a bare minimum of 6. Then, please tell us about this magic you’ve experienced.

Doing too much or too little

Both sides of the coin are bad. Why? You do too much, you won’t be able to do as long, you’ll get injured, you’ll regress in

Doing too much will leave you depleted. Photo by Henti Smith

Doing too much will leave you depleted. Photo by Henti Smith

your training (true story). Doing too little will hamper your results since you won’t be eliciting a muscle response. Want the less of two evils? Go for too little (seriously).

This by no means should be taken as DO NOT PRACTICE EVERYDAY!

Second Step: Building your workout – is an older post of mine that may prove of help here.

Variety (probably your kryptonite)

Variety is a big problem. You’ll end up doing (probably) too much for each muscle group and not really going anywhere. You want to keep it simple. 5 exercises, 10 at most, TOTAL. Switch them during your training week and, read the post at the end of the last item (basically, the more you practice a certain movement the better and stronger you’ll get at it). Just keep your selection finite.

As a point I’m going to say that right now I’m not following my own advise. I’ve divided my movements into technique practice and strength practice. Eventually those techniques will be solid enough to become strength training in and of itself.

Failing regularly

Simply don’t go to failure on a regular basis. You still want to? Keep it to your last set of the week for a particular exercise. You’ll thank me later.

Resources that will keep you in the right path

Me: Yes, shameless self advertising. But, if you’re not yet following my blog I invite you to start 😉

Dan John: If he wrote it, then it’s right. Dan John said it should be enough in the world of strength training. This other link will get you to many other articles by him

Nerd Fitness: you probably heard of it. It’s a great site with a shitload of information. Never a dull read.

Start Bodyweight: Great resource for bodyweight enthusiasts

Breaking muscle: There’s a bit of everything here. A lot of material. I’m particularly fond of Andrew Read’s material (endurance athlete and coach. But could teach most strength trainers a lot).

 

If there are other Resources, blogs, etc. you’ll like to share, please do! All information is welcome!

 

Don’t forget to follow this blog!

Motus Virtute