My current workout routine
The Results from the latest DEXA scan:
“I don’t count my sit-ups; I only start counting when it starts hurting because they’re the only ones that count.” - Mike Tyson
In my earlier post, "My Personal Daily Routine," I described in detail the types of exercise routines I use and the rationale behind those choices. Here, I am going to outline precisely my current exercise regimen - with a disclaimer that I do change things up from time to time.
This regimen is based on a blend of several guided Beach Body workouts. The choice of Beach Body is purely historical as I am a long time user since P90X came out. There are many other excellent choices.
In "My Personal Daily Routine," I also go into detail as to why I prefer guided workouts - and yes, you can't listen to the All-In Pod while doing it, on purpose - unless you are doing Zone 2 training on an elliptical).
The overall length of the circuit is 10 weeks (6 weeks of it is based on 6 Weeks of the Work by Amoila Cesar and 4 weeks is based on Body Beast by Sagi Kalev with several routines from T-30 by Hunter McIntyre and other programs along with running / elliptical workouts).
I exercise every day and don't have a formal rest day. That said I will throttle the intensity, when I feel I am not fully recovered (based both on subjective and objective metrics), such as sleep quality, resting HR, HRV, respiratory rate etc.).
As you have noticed, the workouts are front-loaded in the morning and are of considerable intensity. This is a compromise within my schedule - as I am able to burn enough calories to not worry about the exercise and energy expenditure for the rest of the day.
A quote from Mike Tyson is important. In order to get an adaptation, we need to push it. So whatever recommended reps and loads are - those are just for reference. You need to continue to push it up (provided you are fully recovered and the form is not compromised). For example, if you did the last set of bicep curls with 30 pounds, go up to 35 next time (even reps go down) - and if you don’t have 35s and just did 8 reps with 30s and feel like you can do more with good form - well do 2-3 more.
Every workout starts with a 10-15mins foam rolling routine and I never skip it. Makes me feel like a teenager all day long.
The week for me starts on Sunday.
The first 6 weeks:
The 6-weeks of the work program consists of 3 blocks of 2 weeks each comprising of a mix of 5 different functional routines followed by a 20-25 mins recovery routine on the 6th day with 1 rest day in the middle. As I mentioned earlier - I don’t do rest days, therefor I use a modified schedule.
Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu is the appropriate sequential workout from 6-weeks of the work with a requisite recovery routine (called Range & Repair) followed right after the last weekly workout on Thu.
Fri - whatever I feel like a full body workout or an MMA-focused workout (could be as free form as practicing Krav Maga moves), optionally followed by a 30-mins Zone 2 on an elliptical (depending on how intense / long was the main workout).
Sat - 50m elliptical Zone 2 workout followed by a T-30 chin-up routine, followed by T-30 Sheriff Abs, and ending with a short stretch.
In addition (after the main workout):
On Sun - a short interval run (or a simulated run using an elliptical) consisting of 3m warm-up jog, 9 intervals of 1 min on / 1 min off followed by a cool down, followed by a 5-min stretch.
On Wed - a long intervals run (or a simulated run using an elliptical) consisting of a 3m warm-up jog, 3 intervals of 5 min on / 2 min off followed by a cooldown and a 5 min stretch.
On Mon for weeks 1, 3 and 5 (the 6-weeks of the work legs routine) - a T-30 pull-up routine, followed by a 10min Ab-routine from Insanity Max 30.
On Tue for weeks 2, 4 and 6 (6 weeks of the work Cardio & Core) followed by a 30min Zone 2 on an elliptical. Cardio & Core is the easiest workout in the series and the day overall feels like a rest day.
I am sharing the exact weight and rep ranges for me here. On T-30 pull / chin ups I normally go up to 12 reps on the ladder (unassisted). Of course this is with a maximally good form and with a minimum amount ego, making these weight / rep ranges quite challenging every time.
The last 4 weeks:
Sun: Beast-Up Chest/Shoulders/Triceps followed by T-30 short intervals.
Mon: Beast up Legs, followed by a T-30 pull-up routine.
Tue: Beast Cardio followed by Beast Abs optionally followed by a 30min Zone 2 on an elliptical.
Wed: Build Back/Biceps optionally followed by a 30min Zone 2 on an elliptical. This is one of the toughest workouts in the series and Zone 2 here is truly optional.
Thu: Bulk Shoulders (Thursday #1), Bulk Chest (Thursday #2), Bulk Arms (Thursday #2), Build Chest / Triceps (Thursday #4) or a similar auxiliary lift followed by T-30 long intervals.
Fri: Beast Total Body or if feeling really good, Week of Hard Labour: Total Body (another program by Sagi Kalev) followed by a recovery routine.
Sat - 50m elliptical Zone 2 followed by a T-30 chin-up routine, followed by a T-30 Sheriff Abs routine, and ending with a short stretch.
Unlike 6-weeks of the Work routines - these are done with heavy weights - and I mean heavy.
Why it may look like the last 4 weeks are more demanding - they are not. 6-weeks of the work type workouts focus on compound and power movements putting a lot of stress on a neuromuscular system, so these 4 weeks feel like a break.
All of this is not set in stone, and I do vary and experiment with things from time to time. When I have to shorten the workout, the ab routines get skipped as they are the least essential.
Enjoy!