Exercise Routine

The way things are right now, I don't actually have any off days scheduled...that's not to say they don't happen, but they aren't planned for ahead of time, I just take them if my body's feeling too tired or if my schedule won't realistically allow me to work out. Here's the way things normally play out:

Monday: Heavy Back/Biceps
Tuesday: Heavy Chest/Triceps Evening: Cardio
Wednesday: Abs/Lower Back
Thursday: Light Back/Biceps Evening: Cardio
Friday: Light Chest/Triceps
Saturday: Heavy Legs
Sunday: Abs/Cardio

Right now my workouts are mostly straight sets (i.e. do all sets of one exercise before moving to the next exercise). I've actually been doing straight set workouts for about a year and a half, regardless of whether I was trying to put weight on or lean down. My reason for doing things that way has been that I can put more focus on working the muscle instead of making it more demanding on my cardiovascular system. My theory is that working out this way will allow me to build (or maintain, depending on whether I'm gaining or losing weight) my muscle mass better than if I was doing circuits. However, I must say that the difference is probably small, so if I had less time to workout I'd likely end up doing some form of circuit training and wouldn't be too concerned about losing all of my muscle.

On the heavy days, I'm shooting for 4 sets of 8 reps per exercise, giving myself 90 seconds rest between sets. I'll normally switch up rep ranges from time to time, sometimes doing a strength phase where I'll do 5-6 sets of 3-5 reps per exercise, whereas other times I'll do more a classic hypertrophy phase 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps per exercise. During the strength phase, I usually give 2-3 minutes rest between sets; usually only 60 seconds during the hypertrophy phase.

Heavy Back Day: I usually pick 2 rowing exercises and 2 chin/pulldown exercises, along with rear delt, rotator cuff, and mid/low trapezius work for shoulder stability. I also throw in 4 sets of one biceps exercise, which I normally superset (alternate between two exercises, resting after the second one) with my rear delt work.

Heavy Chest Day: I pick 2 pressing exercises (flat, incline, or decline). I only use dumbbells because they're easier on my shoulders than the barbell, although sometimes I'll use the Hammer Strength machines as well. I also do some upper trapezius work (5-6 sets of shrugs), as well as triceps (6 sets), lateral delt (4 sets), and serratus (2-3 sets) exercises.

Leg Day: This is easily the most strenuous workout, but for me, it's also the one I enjoy most. Yup, there's just something about heavy squats and having your eyes and veins bulge (and probably even toes) that's really exhilarating...and makes me feel like I really deserve my cojones (break out your Spanish-English dictionary in case you didn't get that last word)! Since this is my longest and toughest workout, I save it for the weekend so I can fully devote myself to it. I usually do 2-3 hamstring (hip dominant) exercises totaling 8 sets, as well as 8 sets of quad dominant exercises. I also throw in 5-6 sets of calf work, as well as some 'prehab' work for my adductors, hip flexors, VMO and anterior tibialis muscles. I've partially torn both sides of the groin (A.R.T. for that was a lot of fun, by the way!) and I've started running more so the prehab work is very important to me for injury prevention...especially since I've got this contest to win!

Abs/Lower Back: I hate training abs, but they're important - and I love the payoff - so I hit 'em hard twice a week. I usually do 2 hip flexion (i.e. leg raises/reverse crunches) exercises and rollouts for 3 sets of 10-15 reps. I also do 2 different "core stability" exercises (i.e. BOSU work, planks with arm/leg raises, etc) for 10-12 reps. After that, I'll do some oblique work - either side flexion or rotation oriented - for 10-15 reps/side. Depending on whether I've recently done my (or will do) my leg workout, I'll finish up with 3-4 sets of lower back work for 10-15 reps. For all sets, I only give 60 seconds rest between.

Light Back and Chest Days: The structure's pretty much the same as on the other back/chest days, but I only do 3 sets of each exercise for 12 reps. I only give myself 60 seconds rest between sets, but since I don't really approach failure on any set, it's usually more than enough. There are a few reasons for the light workouts, the most important being that they allow for better recovery between heavy workouts, without having too long a layoff and a potential detraining effect. I also use them as "feeder" workouts, meaning I take advantage of the increased blood flow to the muscles during/post-workout to shuttle in the protein and carbs my muscles need to repair - and improve - after the stress imposed on them from exercise.

As I've told many, if not all of, my clients, your muscles don't improve in the gym, that happens outside of the gym (exercise is just the stimulus), which is why I also normally advise against working out the same muscles two days in a row. I will say that if your volume is low enough and you could dedicate your life to just eating, training, and sleeping - like many Olympic weightlifters - you could probably get away with working the same muscles on consecutive days. However, since I don't know too many people who have the time, discipline, and desire to devote themselves the way I just mentioned, I'd say most people would be best served to have at least the one day of rest between workouts.

Cardio: Like abs, I hate doing cardio too. I used to play basketball twice a week, as well as squash and tennis, but it's been harder for me to make time in my schedule - and coordinate schedules with other people so those have become sporadic at best. So, since I like not struggling to breathe while eating - and I also love to take liberties with my diet from time-to-time - I'm doing cardio 2-3 times per week for 20-25 minutes. I usually run on the treadmill, although sometimes I use the stepmill or the bike if my legs aren't feeling up for a run.

The majority of my cardio comes in the form of interval training, although I throw in some steady state work as well (for the same reason as not going for a run). Generally, I prefer interval training because even though you normally burn fewer calories during the workout, your metabolism is boosted for a longer period post-exercise so you burn a lot more afterwards. I think I remember reading that interval training also has more of a protein-sparing effect (i.e. your body is less likely to burn protein for energy during exercise) which is obviously very important because my focus - for myself as well as my clients - is on a reduction in body fat percentage and not just losing weight. Since one of my goals is to run my mile in 5:30 minutes, another benefit of interval training is that it allows me to get my body used to running at that pace in short bursts until my body's actually able to maintain it for the full duration. Lastly, since I really don't like doing cardio, knowing that I'll be changing pace in 2-3 minutes helps to keep things from getting monotonous...and, therefore, keeping me interested in actually doing it!

As you've probably noticed, I'm spending the majority of my time doing resistance training instead of on cardio. Most people seem to think that cardio is the most important thing when you're trying to reduce your body fat percentage. However, my view is that because you want to maintain as much of your muscle mass as possible, resistance training is most important since it actually stimulates protein synthesis (building)as well as protein degradation (breakdown) . Cardio, on the other hand, only stimulates protein degradation, especially if you're doing intense cardio for over an hour. Now before you all decide to stop doing cardio altogether, realize that it is still king in terms of caloric expenditure and it does still offer cardiorespiratory benefits. In fact, if you're like most people (including myself) and you enjoy eating 'forbidden' foods, the extra calories you burn from cardio will allow for a few indulgences on occasion, so keep doing it...unless you prefer to count calories, of course!

That's all of it, although I'm sure I've forgotten things that I had intended to write about. Of course, if I didn't mention something you were hoping to read about drop me a note (or better yet, post a comment so others can benefit as well) and I'll try to post on that later. That's all for now, but keep your eyes peeled for my next post which will go into more detail about my diet...although you can still check out my Fit Day logs by clicking on the link at the very bottom of the page.

Peace and love, ladies and gents.