In part one, we talked about some really effective ways to put together your workouts. This time around, you'll get the templates to create your weekly fitness program to make it easier to be consistent.
Building Blocks
To make things even easier to program, if you use the following four-week phases, it will be easier for you to keep progressing.
Work in four weeks building blocks keeping the exercises THE SAME. DO NOT CHANGE THEM. Gain mastery, progress difficulty, THEN add variety. Over time you can shorten that to every 3-4 weeks.
Weeks 1-4:
Stability to build your foundation using 3 sets x 10-15 reps.
Weeks 5-8:
Mobility to increase joint range of motion WITHOUT stretching. Using anti-rotation exercises works really well here. Something to the tune of 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps works well here.
Weeks 9-12:
Strength to make your foundation, well, stronger using 3-4 x 4-6 reps.
Weeks 13-16:
Strength Endurance to see how long is your strong (3 x something to effect of 3:00 of moving with 1:00-3:00 of rest best). Three exercises with 3-5 reps done continuously is what I like here.
Week 17+
Go back to the stability phase and start the building blocks over again, just at a higher level. This is one of the easiest ways to program a year's worth of workouts. The key is to record what you in a log book, notebook, etc. Using pen and paper has a habit of helping people be more consistent. Go old school, it will help.
The strategy above is something I learned from Juan Carlos Santana MEd, CSCS from the Institute of Human Performance, so he gets 100% of the credit for this methodology. I've used his programming approach since about 2004 or so and it has worked beautifully so I've found no need to change it. It is an incredibly simple way to keep people progressing.
How Many, How Much, How Often
Now that we've got the exercises to do, the amount of those exercises to do and how long you should do them each time, let's talk about when to do them. The following schedule examples will break that down for you.
2x/Week
• Day 1: Total Body
• Day 2: Total Body
3x/Week
• Day 1: Upper Body
• Day 2: Lower Body
• Day 3: Total Body
3x/Week
• Day 1: Total Body
• Day 2: Total Body
• Day 3: Total Body
4x/Week
•Day 1: Upper Body Push + Pull
•Day 2: Lower Body Squat + Hinge
•Day 3: Upper Body Push + Pull
•Day 4: Lower Body Squat + Hinge
Progressing Your Progressions
Once you've dialed in the above mention muscular awesome, I'm guessing you probably want to know how you keep progressing through your building blocks. Well, here it is.
BE WARNED: it is SIMPLE (see the theme here?) and probably not Instaworthy sexy, but, it is effective none the less. Plus you won't have to lip sync, point at random things on a screen (how do they know where to look? This has always fascinated me) or jump in the air and change outfits when you land.
To progress your movement habit, all you do is (1):
Add more reps, sets or TUT (Time Under Tension, hold a position longer)
Change an angle if you're using bodyweight.
Increase the load
Go from two arms to a moving a single arm. Same thing with the lower body going from two legs to one.
It ain't rocket science here people, don't over complicate the simple.
The Take Away: Simple + Consistency = Results
Keep things simple. The easiest way to pull this off is to pick a squat, push and a pull (and a hinge if you to get completely wild) and use a basics works best approach to getting stronger at home. Move to single arm movements with a single leg base of support and you'll give your body one hell of a challenge.
If you live on earth, and conceivable you do since you're reading this, and you want more information, contact me to talk about your goals, what equipment you have available and how I can best help you simplify your home movement habit.
Until then, follow the #basicsworkbest hashtag on Instagram and have an AWESOME week!
References
1) “Essence of Band and Pulley Training,” Juan Carlos Santana, MEd, CSCS