Women's At Home Bodyweight HIIT

Here's a nice little HIIT circuit workout that you can do at home with only your bodyweight. 

I've geared this workout towards the ladies, who are looking to lose some body fat, build some muscle, and get in all around better shape. 

Before I start let me start off by saying this workout is really for anyone, BatMAN or GIRL, who's looking for a simple at home HIIT routine. Also, ALL of the workouts on this site can be done by women. 

Far too many women still believe the myth that lifting heavy weights will get them bulky, so they like to tell me they're just gonna do lots of reps with light weights and "tone". ARRRGGGHH! 

This is such a horrible MYTH! LADIES! YOU WILL NOT GET BULKY! YOU DO NOT HAVE THE HORMONES OR GENETICS! Also, you don't "tone" muscles by doing lots of low effort reps. You simply need to lose the fat over your muscles. 

This workout is an HIIT (high intensity interval training) circuit, or also known as a metabolic circuit, due to it's potential to speed the metabolism. The basic idea here is to perform each exercise for a given amount of time, say, 60 sec, then immediately move to the next exercise without rest. I'll explain a little more in the video. 

Anyway, here's the workout:

after a warmup, perform the following for 3-4 rounds          

                                                                                                                  

Jumping Jacks 60 sec

Squats 60 sec

Push-ups 60 sec

Bulgarian Split Squat 60 sec

Burpees (don't whine!) 60 sec

Leg Raises

Rest 2-3 min between rounds.

Here's a video link to the workout demonstration: Women's at Home HIIT

This workout sounds simple, but if you wanna burn off that fat, lose those love handles,lift that butt, flatten those abs and get in shape, please give it a shot. 

Remember, quality controlled reps over quantity, and doing this or ANY intense workout IS NOT an excuse to eat like a frat boy or manatee. Diet is key. Recovery as well. So do NOT do this everyday. 

Enjoy. 

-Tom

Man of Steel Workout

Here's a nice little workout based around the Man of Steel Circuit found in Muscle and Fitness a few months back. It's been modified due to the fact that let's be honest, we're not Henry Cavill. That man is a monster with access to an amazing trainer and supps as well. (also the original workout calls for a rower and not all of us have access to that)

This workout is INTENSE! So please fuel up before, warm up properly and take the day off after. Seriously. No joke.

Warmup: 3 sets of pull ups

Barbell Cicuit: 3 rounds, load up the bar and move fluidly from one exercise to the next.

Snatch Grip Deadlift 4 reps

Bent Over Row 4 reps

Hang Clean 4 reps

Military Press 4 reps

Hack Squat 4 reps

Tri Set: 3 rounds

Push ups: 8 reps diamonds, 5 reps standard, 3 reps as wide as you can go

Deadlift. Heavy Weight. 2 reps

Hack Squat. Heavy Weight. 2 reps. 

Done. 

Here's your video link to a basic run through of the workout : Man of Steel Workout

Remember, quality reps and perfect form before anything else. 

-Tom

Caveman Workout

Wanna get in caveman shape? This one's for you!

Cavemen had to be in much better shape than modern man. So here's a workout designed around movements that would be beneficial in prehistoric times, should have you have to lift heavy objects like boulders or downed trees, put something up in a tree, jump and climb your way to safety, or just be a prehistoric badass in general. 

After a dynamic warmup, perfom the following. 

Tree pull ups: 3 sets of 5 reps

Gotta be able to climb away from that sabretooth beast! Tree Pull ups on Youtube

Sumo Dead lift: 5-6 sets of 1

Choose the sumo dead lift over the conventional, as it's a more natural way to lift a heavy object off the ground. Like a boulder. Sumo Dead lift on Youtube

Push Press: 3 sets of 3 reps

Gotta be able to lift something heavy over your head, and cavemen would definitely dip at the hips and use their legs to assist their shoulders in hoisting more weight . Push Press on Youtube

Incline Bench Press: 3 sets of 5 reps

Incline presses are a more functional push than a flat bench, and you're going to need that pushing power to push that boulder off the cliff and knock out that woolly mammoth! Incline Press

Jump Squats: 3 sets of 5 reps

Your're going to need to improve that vertical leap if you want to escape from being eaten alive!

Walking Lunge: 3 sets of 8 each leg

Weak legs are only going to shorten your lifespan and make you an appetizer, so finish off with the most functional of leg movements, the walking lunge!

Should they exercise, cavemen would NOT have access to a squat rack or rower. If anything, they would mostly be climbing, jumping, and lifting and pressing heavy objects. 

So if you wanna get in shape like a modern caveman, (and maybe skip shaving), give this one a shot!

-Tom

Back to Basics Workout

Back to Basics. This one is made up of classic compound movements that has been packing on muscle for decades. Some of them for all of human history really.

Forget the swiss balls. Forget standing on an unstable platform and pressing light weights. Forget 1000's of crunches and bicep curls. Forget the treadmill and spinning classes. Skip the high intesnity intervals that have you doing 20 different exercises a min with bad form. Forget arms day, and legs day. 

Let's move some weight around with basic, time tested movements and work on one part.

You.

I'll walk you through this workout with links to instructional videos one movement at a time, then lay out the entire workout for you at the end. 

First lets start with a warm up to get your blood flowing and your body warm to prime you for the workout and avoid injury.

Warm up: Pull ups and Bodyweight Walking Lunges. Superset. 5 reps each.

Ah pull ups. Such an underrated movement. Muscles Targeted :Lats, biceps, grip, rear deltoids, core

Perhaps the greatest exercise to work and build your back. Plus it's such an important and classic movement. Pulling up your entire body weight from a dead hang. Humans have been doing this for all of history. 

Superset these with walking lunges to warm up your lower body

Walking Lunges. Muscles targeted : Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings, calves, core

Too many men skip these in favor of squats and leg press, but if you want strong, functional legs. walking lunges are a must.  Warmup Video Here: Warmup

And now the workout. 

First up, The Deadlift. 5 sets of 1-2

Muscles Targeted: Core, Lower Back, Hamstrings, Glutes, Quads, Lats, Shoulders, Traps, Biceps,Grip. 

Arguably the greatest exercise due to the mass amount of muscles worked and the simplicity of the movement. Picking up heavy objects off the floor from a dead stop. We've been doing this since standing upright. Technique is crucial in this movement to avoid injury and get mass results. And yes, only two reps. Make sure to come to a DEAD stop (dead lift, get it?) in between reps and DON'T bounce the weight. That's cheating. Here's a video link: Deadlift

Next up, the Dumbbell Bench Press 3 sets of 5

Muscles Targeted: Pecs, triceps, shoulders, grip, core

Everyone's favorite and unfortunately along with curls the only thing some young men do. 

Pressing something away from your body is such an instinctual and for some reason pleasuring movement. 

I prefer the Dumbbell Bench over the classic barbell bench due to the reduced stress on the shoulder joints and more emphasis on the pectoral muscles. Less risk for shoulder injury and more chest involvement? Win.

I prefer to do this movement on a slight incline. About 30 degrees 

Here's a video link: Dumbbell Bench Press

Next, Standing Dumbbell Military Press 3 sets of 5

Muscle Targeted: Shoulders, Triceps, Core

Such a neglected press movement nowadays in favor of lateral raises and bench pressing. Foolish. There was a time when a heavy 1 rep max on the military press was much more respected than a big bench number. Besides being the best way to build larger stronger shoulders, lifting something over your head is such a primal movement. (Also a great way to work your core as well. )

Here's your video link: Standing Military Press

The Front or Goblet Squat 3 sets of 5

Muscles Targeted : Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings, lots of core

The squat is widely considered the King of All Lifts among most fitness buffs and with good reason. It's such a natural total body movement that works SO many muscles and burns plenty of calories to boot. 

I chose the front squat here due to it's increased emphasis on the the quads and core over the back squat. 

Also, the front squat and goblet squat can be done without access to a squat rack and for inexperienced lifters, holding the weight load in front of you tends to force your spine into a more upright position that is difficult to teach beginners to do on the back squat.

Most workout put squatting first, but I followed the advice of Bodybuilding Legend Steve Reeves (Look him up please!) and put them last, to keep the legs fresh for overhead pressing and deadlifts. Here's your video link: Squats

And now that we've completed what is often known as the Big 4, (Deadlift, Bench, Overhead Press, Squat), lets finish off with a superset of Dips and crunches.

Dips 3 sets of 5

Muscles Targeted: Triceps, Traps, Shoulders, Lower Chest. 

Essentially the opposite movement of a pull up, the dip is a great often over looked movement to build the triceps as well as your shoulders and lower chest.

And yes, Crunches

Muscles Targeted: Abs. Duh. 

I know, I know. Modern Fitness LOVES to hate on crunches and get you to do anything else instead. 

But I'll tell you what. If you use good form and concentrate, you don't have to do very many, maybe 3 sets of 5. Really. That workout you just did already annihilated your core, and if crunches are good enough for Arnold and the legendary abs of Bruce Lee, they'll do for you too. 

Here's your video link :  Cooldown

This workout is really an effort to simplify things and show you that you can do straight sets of classic moves that are time tested to produce results. It's all natural movements, and can be completed in about 30 min. 

Total Body workouts worked for Steve Reeves and they can work for you too. They've definitely worked for me. Anyway, here's the entire routine written out:

Warmup: Pull ups and Walking Lunges- 3 sets of 5

Workout:

Dead lift-4 to 5 sets of 1-2

Dumbbell Bench Press-3 sets of 5

Standing Dumbbell Military Press-3 sets of 5

Goblet or Front Squat- 3 sets of 5

Cooldown: Dips and Crunches-3 sets of 5

This is a workout that can definitely be your go to workout when you want to hit the weights, and will work for beginners or advanced lifters. Stick to it for a while, focus on quality, focused reps, and you will see some results.

Focus on the Big Four! 

-Tom

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