Leverage your Body's Strength

“Every-Other Day” Routine Perform this routine every-other day or three times a week (at least one day of rest between every workout).

Jump to:

• Warm-Up
• Cardio
• Resistance Training
  • Push
  • Pull
  • Squat
  • Core
  • Supplementary Exercises
  • Stretches
• Notes

 

Warm-up 

W.A.S.H – 5 reps in each direction (each side where applicable)

Wrists

Ankles

Ankle Circumduction (seated or standing)

Shoulders

Shoulder Circumduction

 

Shoulder Roll

Hips

Circumduction

Hacky Sack

Pivot and Reach

Lying Scorpion
(progression: face same direction as moving leg, progression: leg straight)

Crab Reach Stretch


Lateral Crawl (hips and legs straight, e.g. push-up position, if needed)

 

Cardio

Once or twice per week:

20 minute interval training:  8 minute warm-up at a low intensity followed by ~2 minute work and rest intervals.  Each work interval should be sufficiently intense (resistance and speed) to cause you to “fail” the talk test (it should be hard to carry out a conversation).

Remaining workout days:

20 minute steady-state training: 6 minute warm-up at low intensity followed by 14 minutes at constant moderate intensity (just below talk test failure).

Resistance Training

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Push – Choose 3 sets x 10 repetitions of any of the following exercises:

Chest Press Machine


Shoulder Press Machine


Incline Dumbbell Chest Press

Barbell Bench Press

Seated Cable Chest Press

Standing one-arm cable chest-press with trunk rotation

Standing one-arm cable chest-press with trunk rotation


Band High Chest Press

Pike Shoulder-Press, Progressed Pike Shoulder-Press

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Pull – Choose 3 sets x 10 repetitions of any of the following exercises:

Seated Row

Lat Pull-Down

Pull-up (Featured: Machine-assisted)

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Squat – Choose 3 sets x 10 repetitions of any of the following exercises:

Squat (Row-Assisted)


TRX-Assisted Step-Up


Lateral Step-up (Dumbbell optional)

Squat (Bodyweight, Dumbbell Front Squat)

Reverse Lunge (Body Weight  OR Dumbbell Resisted)

TRX Suspended Lunge


TRX Floating/Balance Lunge


TRX Lateral (Stepping) Lunge

TRX Prisoner Squat

Step-up

Leg Press

Plyometric Lunge

Plyometric Squat

Dumbbell Thruster (Squat + Shoulder Press)


Wide Sumo Goblet Squat (feet form ~90° if comfortable)


Prisoner squat

Single Leg Deadlift (floating or back leg down but body weight centered on front)

Sumo Deadlift (Wide Stance, alternate or prone grip)


Hex Bar Deadlift/Squat


TRX Curtsy Lunge (floating as depicted or set back foot down)


TRX Pistol Squat


Barbell Back Squat


Barbell Front Squat

 

 

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Core and Optional Exercises (Optional if Body Leverage chosen for Push/Pull)

Dirty Dog   1 set x 8 reps

Bird Dog   1 set x 8 reps

Donkey Kick   1 set x 10 reps (each leg)

Cat/Cow   1 set x 10 reps

Bridge (Knee, Full, One-Leg, or Dynamic, One-Leg-Hip Abducted)     2 times for 30 seconds

Side Bridge (knees bent, full, OR progressed)    2 times for 20 seconds

Hamstring Bridge (low, medium, OR highest resistance)   2 times for 30 seconds OR

Hamstring Curl (Stability Ball, TRX or TRX high resistance: hips straight)    2 sets x 8 reps

Crunch  (low, medium, high, highest resistance)    2 sets x 10 reps OR

Stability Ball Crunch (preferred!)

Reverse Crunch    2 sets x 10 reps

Oblique Crunch    1 sets x 5 reps

TRX Mountain-Climber OR

TRX Crunch OR

TRX Pike

Row Boats

Cobra    1 set x 8 reps

Superman    2 sets x 10 reps OR

Swimmer    2 sets x 5 reps

TRX Power-Pull OR

Band Twist

Roman Chair Slouch/Un-Slouch (Thoracic spine extension – Body weight only!)


Inverted back extension (“Slouch / un-slouch”)


Wall Plank to Handstand


Lateral Raise Machine


Farmer’s Walk (Full-body strength and cardio! Go heavy with slow, short steps!)

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Stretches – Hold each stretch once (per side, where applicable) for 30 seconds

Piriformis (supine, seated, or standing)

BOSU Ball Chest / Shoulder / Spine

Crouching thoracic spine rotation OR seated rotation

Child’s Pose with Side Stretches

Hip Flexor Stretch

Quadriceps Stretch w/ posterior pelvic tilt OR Brettzel

Hamstring and Calf Stretch (Supine / Standing, toes on wall, chest up)


Ankle Circumduction

Leaning OR toes-elevated calf stretch

 

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Notes

Weight: lbs

Body Fat: % (more info)

Resting Heart Rate:  –  BPM

Blood Pressure: Left ( / ) / Right ( /  ) (more info)

The best nutritional advice can be summed up as follows:

1. Eat food—what your great grandparents would recognize as food, not the stuff in the center aisles of the grocery store)
2. Not too much. Eat to 80% satiety. One helpful hack: drink a glass of water before each meal.
3. Mostly plants. Whole, unprocessed, and packed with fiber, phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals!
4. Not to often. Extend your nightly fast as much as possible/convenient. The optimal feeding window for weight loss is likely something like 8am to 2pm.

Credit to Michael Pollan for the first three. The fourth acknowledges the increasingly confirmed benefits of allowing your body to return to a fasted state for several hours a day.

For minor musculoskeletal injuries, remember P.O.L.I.C.E.:

• Protection
• Optimal
• Load
• Ice
• Compress
• Elevate

P.U.F.F. up any sugar or simple carbohydrates you might consume to reduce blood sugar spikes, which result in food comas, pangs of hunger, and fat cell growth.

Add:

1. Protein
2. Unrefined food
3. Fat 
4. Fiber

Nutrient timing will also help you avoid blood sugar spikes. Whenever practical, exercise right before or after a meal.

Animal Flow 1

Animal Flow 2

Protein needs = ((between .8 & 1.2)*[body weight]) / 2.2 = low to high-grams of protein per day

Pointers for Minimalist Running Technique:

1. Forefoot/midfoot strike instead of heel
2. More frequent steps (120 – 180 steps x min—two to three per second!) and shorter strides
3. Soft landings (earplugs will help you hear the ground reactive force)
4. Grip the ground gently with your toes and sweep back to reduce “braking”
5. Keep your feet engaged by lifting your arches and centering your ankle over the foot (see short foot exercise)
6. To the extent comfortable, keep knees/toes pointed in the direction of travel
7. Ramp up this style of running gradually—you’ll feel soreness in muscles you didn’t know you had! Take a 1-2 days off from it anytime you need for full recovery and consider using the arc trainers on your rest day(s) instead of the treadmill.