Tag Archives: Workout

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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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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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!

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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!

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No time to workout? Try one of these 4 short time workout strategies! (#3’s my personal favorite)

These 4 strategies will get you seriously strong and conditioned if you work at them seriously! But first, a little back story.

Not so long ago, before graduating, I had to juggle between a job and school. As you may imagine, I had less than little time

workout. Before needing a job, I was able to put hours on the gym (I wasn’t always so focused, so a lot of time-wasting happened), and that was ok, I didn’t really need to worry about optimizing my workouts time-wise.

But, then real responsibilities came along and, quite frankly, I didn’t really have (nor want) the time to go for well over an hour in

the gym. There was a lot to do, namely enjoying the benefits of said work. This has been so for over 5 years now, and I wouldn’t go back to marathonic workout sessions. What did I do? Here’s a couple of strategies to do the same (or more) in less time.

1. Get more bang for you buck: Prioritize

Kettlebell work for circuits

Kettlebell work is almost made for circuit training. Photo by Lorant Dankahazi

This is as simple as it gets and implies cutting off extra work, and it works great for the development of strength. There’s several ways to go about it

  • An exercise a day, plus some accessory work. Choose a big compound exercise such as the bench press, military press, squats or deadlifts and focus on it. Your accessory work should focus on something that builds towards it.
  • Focus only on two big compound exercises and work exclusively on them. This is my favorite of both approaches. Pavel’s Power to the People protocol works amazing for this, and in 20 minutes a day (or a total of 1:40 hours a week) tops you’ll be getting a lot stronger.

2. Try circuit training

Working circuits is simple. You just grab a bunch of exercises and perform them one after the other. Your rest between exercises and circuits should reflect your. The magic of this is that your rest periods will be shortened anyway, since you’ll be somewhat recovering from one exercise while performing the rest.

Usually, when I do circuits they go something like this:

  • A push
  • A pull
  • A knee bend (squat)
  • A hip hinge (kettlebell ballistics or bridge)
  • A core exercise

After every circuit I give myself two minutes of rest (or one, If I’m realllly feeling it) and start over. After 5 circuits I’m usually done for the day. Doing this 3-4 times a week will guarantee your success.

Reps and rest will depend on your conditioning level and your focus. If you’re going for a strength based practice you’ll do best with low reps and higher rests, invert it for conditioning. Or check out my post on defining your workout where I get better into it.

3. Density Training: Set a time and go!

This is by far my favorite of the 3 (Crossfitters may now it as AMRAP). Density in training is calculated as volume/time. Why is this a great type of training when you’re on a tight schedule? Because the progress in it is either in doing more in the same amount of time, or doing the same faster.

What has worked best for me Is to use a stop watch between 15-40 minutes and get my favorite circuit and go for it. Make sure to take note of your workout: how much did you do this practice? Great, now try to beat it by at least one rep or exercise completed on your next practice (always remember to practice safely though, the numbers will come).

Once you’ve added two rounds, change to harder exercises (usually best to change one at a time).

4. Extreme conditioning on the minute

Kettlebell Swing

Expect a healthy sweat! Photo by John Calnan

This is my favourite for finishers, but it’s a great conditioning tactic if you don’t have time. You’ll need a stopwatch or a timer. The idea is for you to do a set, rest for what’s left of the minute, and start over on the new minute. Kettlebell swings/snatches, burpees and bw squats work great here.

Wrap up

Any of these strategies will work wonders once you apply them, and will let you enjoy the rest of your life as well. They have been proven not only by me but by (at least) thousands who’ve used them successfully for their fitness goals. Just remember to fit them into your goals and you’ll be golden!

So, now that time’s no longer an excuse, what will you say when you won’t do it?

Also, If you’ve got any friends or family that complains for their lack of time, share this post with them, it may help them a lot!

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Active Rest: the importance of deloading

The importance of deloading

Recently I’ve been feeling overly fatigued. I was feeling stiff, hard and tired. So, of course, I went over my training log. Lo and behold, the answer was staring right at me: I haven’t taken a proper deloading week for the last 4 months. Big mistake. BIG MISTAKE.

Deloading is not an excuse to not practice

Deloading is not an excuse to not practice. Photo by Fabio de Albuquerque Vialba

Deloading is crucial for any program (a key aspect in programming as I mentioned in my last post SECOND STEP). On this week you’ll rest, recover and lock-in your progress. While reading one of Pavel’s books (the original RKC – The Russian Kettlebell Challenge) he stated that one of the most effective ways to build strength is to practice moderation when considerably fatigued.

Basically your Deloading template shouldn’t be too hard to manage. I’m partial to the 50% in volume school. Others have thrived through 50% in intensity; some even with 50% of both. Whichever makes the most sense to you; all schools have something in common: It’s not the same as not doing it. This week should not be seen as a “no work out week”. That’s not the point and it will be detrimental to your gains.

The importance of Deloading is intimately tied with the importance of rest. But that is material for another post.

Hope you’ve found this article helpful in your quest for fitness and health!

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Manuel

I hate aerobic training and the secret of naturally lean people

Many of us hate aerobic training. Me, personally, I find it tedious, boring, long and with very little gains for the time I have to

Bike riding

Aaaand keep going and going and going and going…

invest in it. It’s not fun and I have many other protocols for fat-loss that are both more effective and a lot more fun.

I usually find aerobic training easy (it’s kinda the point usually), and I don’t really enjoy doing over 15km (which takes well above an hour) of jogging, light running or brisk walking. And most of all, I find it extremely and annoyingly boring as hell (did I make the point already?). So, I’ve been thinking about how I could make it easier to the mind, and reap the same benefits (besides getting a google glass to watch tv while I jog, or buying a stationary bike for my tv).

First, let me say that aerobic training is important. It’s development will have results in heart health, respiratory health, your immune system, all sorts of benefits for the blood and your muscle recovery and endurance will be boosted as well (as long as you do it in a progressive and smart way). Not to mention, your mind fortitude, patience and body composition will change dramatically once you start. It’s boring, but beneficial.

So, back to the question, how to do it without wanting to bang our heads against the pavement or wall? Let’s take a look to what most “naturally” lean people do. Here comes the big reveal, the astounding secret, roll drums and whatnot.

The secret of naturally lean people

They have a more active lifestyle (I know, where’s the special fruit? The secret exercise? That thing all over the internet that doctors and trainers don’t want us to know?). I’m of course referring to regular people and not those few genetic freaks we all love to hate.

Thing is, in this case, both fat-loss and aerobic training take place at the same time, people just don’t call it training, they call it travelling or whatever. It may be going by bike to work or walking from point A to point B, playing with your dog, your children, your nephews. It’s simple, they move more, and that, has a result in fitness, happiness, and their guts and asses.

Simple hacks to be naturally lean

Then what should we do? The simple answer would be to move more. But that’s not why you’re here. So ask yourselves the following questions:

  • How do you go to work or school? Can you replace that with walking or a bike?

    bike riding, aerobic exercise, lifestyle change

    Just small changes, like going for a ride with your kids will yield great success!

    Photo by TimothyJ

  • What do you do on your weekends? Are there other more physical activities you may enjoy?
  • Stop using your elevators and walk the stairs (if you live in a tall building on a higher floor, start in increments, simply add a floor every day or two).
  • Use your imagination (mine’s busy with rainbows and unicorns)

Personally I walk at least 3km (a mile aprox) a day, and I try to do it in a brisk and quick pace, and I’m seriously thinking of starting to use my bike (it’s only 15km each way).

What small changes can you make that may give you some bigger benefits?

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Manuel

5 exercises to a strength routine

There’s a lot of literature on this topic. This here is my view, according to what’s worked best for me and many I’ve helped.

Building a basic strength program is not a particularly hard thing, as long as you have your goals in mind and a clear way to progress. Given the amount of information on the internet about this, it seems redundant to add to the information. But I believe a little summary on it might go a long way.

Excercise selection

This will be your basic excercises, make sure to choose at least one in each category.

  1. A press: bench presses, military presses, push-ups, dips, …

    Pullups - The upper body solution for strength training. Photo by 316ESC

    Pullups – The upper body solution for strength training. Photo by 316ESC

  2. A pull: pull-ups, rows, levers, …
  3. A knee bend: squats, pistols, squats, pistols (yep, that’s what you’ll choose from)
  4. A hip hinge: Deadlifts, hypers, bridges
  5. Core: hanging leg raises, side levers, ab rollouts, etc.

And, according to your tools, we’ll divide how to build it according to your preferences.

The weight room: Barbells & Dumbells

For me personally, it usually works best if I do them at least 3 times a week, you may want to try and split them. If you do, I’d best recomend joining your knee-bends and your pulls, and you presses and hip-hinges, since they don’t overlap too much. Your core work it either day.

If you do split, I’d recomend adding at least one more excercise that builds towards your main lifts, more towards the end (don’t do curls before you pull-up), or doing both plains of movement (vertical and horizontal) on the same day.

The rest, build it with a 3-5 template: 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps with 3-5 minutes of rest between excercises 3-5 days a week. Once you hit 5×5 in a given weight, add some more and start over. And DO NOT go to failure. Leave 2 reps in the bank. Finish strong and energized. This is the easiest to know how to progress.

Kettlebells

Kettlebells have the obstacle of being a fixed weight. So, we’ll have to define when we’ve mastered a given weight, or when we’re ready to move up. In my case once 5×5 becomes easy I go to a more difficult variation. Bear in mind that hip-hinges with a kettlebell end up feeling a bit on the light side (especially when you have only the one, single leg deadlifts with 32 kg (70 lbs) just aren’t that heavy), so feel free to go balls out with ballistic excercises.

A 3-5 method here works as a beauty as well. On ballistics (do them towards the end of your session) go balls out, you’ll be stronger after it anyway (described in dragon door as the WTH effect). Search also for harder variations (ie: military press can be done sitting on the floor, or a sots press, or slower tempo; rows can become renegade rows; etc.)

Bodyweight Training

Building strength with bodyweight training is a bitch. A complete, utter and total bitch. Being able to do 5×5 on push-ups will not help you build enough strength for other harder excercises, unless you’re patient enough to go in small increments in your leverage. And even that may not be enough. BW training usually calls for higher reps in order to build, not only strength, but tendon, ligament and joint health as well.

A 3-5 template doesn’t work that well either. 3-5 days a week, 3-5 sets with 3-5 minutes of rest works well, but you may want to start low on your reps, and keep building them up.

Be sensitive, doing 5×5 push-ups once you’re strong enough won’t make a lot of progress, but doing 5×50 for strength won’t either. When you feel you might get at least 3 good, crisp reps, without going to failure on the next rung of the ladder, it’s time to progress.

Mind you, I may be bitching about it, but the feeling of accomplishement of training with this method’s been, for me, much larger than the others.

As a side note: Remember to deload every 4th to 6th week and keep your journal updated!

Well this post ran a bit longer than I anticipated, but I hope it clarifies some of the main questions when you’re trying to build your own routine. Remember, this is a basic template and it will allow you to progress if you work at it. It doesn’t mean that other things won’t or that they won’t work better for your particular case. But, both for me and for most of the people I’ve helped, this was right up their alley.

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Manuel

Have you tried a similar template? how did that work for you?

4 ways to kill your routine

There are several ways to completely destroy your routines, be they good or bad. Here are 4 sure fire ways to kill your training routine’s potential:

  • Not following through.
  • Not using the right progression
  • Not keeping a log
  • Not making adjustments along the way

Not Following Through

This one needs no elaboration. It’s quite simple: if you’re not doing it, it won’t work for you (duh!). You want to make it work? Work at it!

Not using the right progression

This one has 3 possible causes: you don’t know what comes next, you’re going too easy (lazy) or you’re going too hard (ego). Using the right progression will keep you advancing while honeing you’re technique. It will make you stronger and results will flourish. Now, if yours is the first scenario let me be the first to welcome you to the internet, you’ll find a shitload of information, variations and progressions for whatever excercise you’re doing (this is particularly tough for bodyweight excercises and other fixed weights), do your research, ask questions, whatever you need (if I can help you, leave me a message and I’ll answer you as soon as I can).

The second reason, that you’re going too easy, means that you’re basically going through the motions: when was the last time you added weights? reps? shortened your rest periods? made an excercise slightly harder? If you keep doing what you always did, don’t expect to move forward, but backwards instead.

If the problem is that you’re going too hard, please, either leave your ego at the door or be smarter while doing it. Singles and partials have their place, but doing 3 sets of 1 or half a rep a week won’t get you anywhere. Best start at least with an excercise you can manage 5 reps in good form and do 3, keep adding reps till you get where you want. Everyone has a pace, and it’s there for a reason.

Not keeping a log

For years I read this one and thought it was not really needed, I could keep track. Reality said different. A training log is a pool of information made by you, for you, about you. It doesn’t get better than this. A good log will let you see:

  1. Where you’re at.
  2. How you’re progressing
  3. What you’re failing to do
  4. What’s working and what’s not

If say, your log shows that you’re stuck for months in the same excercise/weight/volume it’s probably time to change the variables. But you won’t know it until you’re able to check it!

Not making adjustments along the way

This one’s related to those that came before. A good plan needs to be adjusted: you’re life, you’re progress won’t always keep the same, you’re strength levels, etc. won’t either. You need to be able to make adjustments according to your context. Maybe you’ve gotten stronger and need to adjust the weight, or change the excercise. Maybe you’ve got no time in you’re hands and need to prioritize certain excercises.

Remember, you’re doing this to improve your life, not to be ruled by it.

Remember, there’s a pace for everyone and it will be dictaded by your own body. Just be clear on your goals, where you’re at, and act accordingly. Don’t be afraid to go heavier, and there’s really no shame in going back a couple of steps.

The Easiest Fix

The easiest way to fix this is: KEEP A TRAINING LOG. And make it detailed. It can have as many or few items as you want it to, just make sure it tracks what you’re doing in your practices and how you’re progressing. Use photos, weigh yourself, take down volume, intensity, etc. Just make sure YOU understand it and that you can follow it. Besides, it’s easy to do it, bare minimum, write after each workout to make .

Motus Virtute,