Workout Plan - Details

Start out by picking 1 exercise from the back, quads and core muscle group. (ie. Pullups for back, Bulgarian Squat for quads, Leg lift for core). The more compound your exercises are, the better results you'll see. Perform each exercise in successive order with no breaks. After performing all three exercises, take a 1 to 1.5 minute break. Do this 3 times.

Each exercise should be done until failure. Failure meaning you do as many reps as possible until your muscles can no longer do the exercise. The weight should be sufficient to burn your muscles out in the range of 6-15 reps.

If you can perform more than 15 reps, increase the weights by 10%. Ie. If you can do 100 lbs on the bench press 15 times, increase the weight to 110 lbs. If you can not do more than 5 reps, lower the weight by 5%. Ie. If you can only do 100 bls on the bench press 4 times, lower the weight to 95 lbs.

After finishing 3 sets of 3 exercises take a 4 to 5 minute break and proceed to the second half of the workout. This entails doing the same as before but with three new muscle groups: chest, hamstrings and calves. 

This entire routine should only take 45 minutes. If it takes more than an hour you are probably taking too long of breaks. Really focus on intensity by keeping the break times short.

Once you've finished this routine you'll need at least 2 days of rest to let your body heal before you can perform it again. I typically do weights, cardio day 2, rest day 3, weights, cardio, rest. Sometimes though, I will need more than 2 days to recover, but I never take more than 5 days rest. If you wait more than 5 days your body will have stopped growing muscle and will start losing it again.

Here is a quick example:

First Half

8 Pullups, 11 Bulgarian squats (each leg), 15 Crunches - Rest 1.5 minutes

8 Pullups, 11 Bulgarian squats (each leg), 15 Crunches - Rest 1.5 minutes

8 Pullups, 11 Bulgarian squats (each leg), 15 Crunches - Rest 5 minutes

Second Half

13 Pushups, 12 Hamstring raises, 9 Single Leg Calf Rases (each leg) - Rest 1.5 minutes

13 Pushups, 12 Hamstring raises, 9 Single Leg Calf Rases (each leg) - Rest 1.5 minutes

13 Pushups, 12 Hamstring raises, 9 Single Leg Calf Rases (each leg) - Done

Here are some good examples of exercises to choose from.

Back

My favourite exercises:

• Pullups
• Chinups
• Rows
• Lat Pulldown

Pullup sand Chinups can be done on a pullup bar at home. I use something similar to the Iron Gym bar.

I'd recommend the bar with multiple grips. This adds a huge variety of exercises to your back workout with one device.

Quads

My favourite exercises:

• Leg Press
• Bulgarian Squat
• Double Leg Squat
• Single Leg Squat

For Bulgarian squats I use a flat bench like the one shown to the left. If you have a set of dumbells it doubles the versatility. You could, for instance, do your dumbell presses, flys bent over 1 arm rows and elevated pushups (among a ton of others).

For single leg squats you can do them off the floor or on a step workout system.

If you can find one with a soft matted top you can also use it for some neat glute exercises I'll be blogging about in a bit. If not, you could be crafty and use a thick folded tower over it to give back support. More about this here.

Core

My Favourite Ab exercises:

• Leg Lift
• Crunches
• Jack knives
• Hanging Leg Lift

Top Oblique exercises:

• Side Hip Raise
• Oblique Twist
• Overhead leans

For most of these you'll want a soft surface. If you don't have one, try using a thick towel or grab a workout mat.

Chest

My favourite exercises:

• Dips
• Pushups - wide, narrow, elevated, 1 armed
• Benchpress - incline/decline/flat

Hamstrings

• Hamstring curl
• Double hip raise
• Single hip raise

Calves

• Single leg calf raises
• Double leg calf raises

 You can do them right off the floor, but if you do them on a set of stairs or a step workout system they will work you out way better!