“I am good at pullups” —Tony Horton
As mentioned in the previous post - I’ve recently tweaked my workout schedule to harmonize the functional block (focused on full body power movements) and weight lifting block (focused on muscle building) to make them both be 6-weeks in length each. I alternate those blocks.
In my previous post I described the prior routine: two blocks — a 6-week full-body (mostly power-focused) functional block, followed by a 4-week weight-lifting block.
In this post, I’m outlining a modified functional block. This is the hardest block due to high demand on neuro-musculature system (even though the weights are considerably lower) and the follow on weight lifting block always feels like a break.
As before, I work out first thing in the morning (work scheduling), with a 5:30 am wake-up, quick oral/face hygiene, pre-workout supplements, and a 10-15 min meditation.
Because the blocks are now a bit longer, I’m skipping pre-workout foam rolling during the work week. If I had unlimited time, I’d keep it.
I still use guided workouts (Beachbody — historical) mainly for timing and pacing.
The core workout is built around The 6-weeks of the work program by Amolia Ceasar and it consists of 3 blocks, 2 weeks each. The workouts get progressively more complex (although not necessarily harder) in each subsequent block. Since the program has a formal rest day and a really easy 20-25m stretch routine day, I simply skip the rest day and tag on the stretching routine to the tail end of the last workout of the week. So the program’s 2 weeks end up being 10 days for me. To make it still be 6 calendar weeks I simply repeat week 1 or week 5 in the end (week 1 is actually one of the hardest weeks if you push the weights up). For reference - I am sharing my workout sheets here.
Below are two blocks each matching alternating week in the program.
Weeks 1/3/5:
Weeks 2/4/6:
P90X3 Challenge consists of four blocks. Each block has two sets of pull-ups followed by push-ups (different variations). My current numbers are: 15 pull-ups, 40 push-ups per set. That’s 120 pull-ups and 320 push-ups per workout. There’s also a burnout at the end — 2 pull-ups and 4 push-ups, no rest, for 6 sets — so add 12 pull-ups and 24 push-ups to the total.
10min Ab Hummer is from Hammer and Chisel program, P90X Ab Ripper is from P90X and 10min Abs is from Insanity Max 30.
Intervals
Long intervals: 3-min warm-up jog; 3 × 5-min runs with 2-min walks in between; cool-down jog/walk.
Short intervals: 3-min warm-up jog; 9 × 1-min max-effort sprints with 1-min walks; cool-down jog/walk.
When time is short, abs get dropped first. If Zone 2 is 50 min, I cut it to 30; if Zone 2 follows intervals, I drop it.
The form is critical for these workouts, especially mental fatigue sets in. Seemingly lower weights can be deceptive - do not raise the weights unless you can complete the exercise with nearly a perfect form, as the risk of injury with complex power moves goes up considerably.
When traveling
When traveling and the hotel gym with weights is available, both circuits can continue, depending on the space and how crowded the place is. When no gym is available I normally switch to Insanity Max 30 Month Two workouts for the duration. Those are body weight only and while not sufficient by themselves, they are decent enough for maintenance while traveling.
Again - this is what I do. Consistency and a purposeful plan are keys and there are many other ways to stay in shape.