I’ve been busier than ever thanks to this crisis, rebooting many programs and relying on just the BASE-4 to keep me sane and healthy.
Now I gotta start training again.
Not to get huge of course (ha!) but to keep what I have, maintain rhythm, and maybe even hit stuff I tend to overlook that also jives with both my equipment and the current situation.
In this post I’m going to go over my own plan, including my basic training and how it fits into the bigger picture. My hope is that you can use these basic ideas in figuring out your own training.
What works for me won’t necessarily work for you, but ideally you take ideas from here and there that work in your own specific situation.
Before I begin, I’ll also note that I also have last week’s post about steady state cardio; think of it as a kind of prologue to this email, and and it’s obviously relevant to point #3 in the Base-4 foundation below.
The Foundation
THE BASE-4 EVERY DAY
- Track my diet (2,400 calories a day), great food choices.
- Sleep 7-9 hours, for me 10 pm – 5:30 am
- One hour of cardio a day
- De-stress (ideally: call a friend)
Goal Activity 1:
1 hour of cardio a day for 30 days (120-140bpm)
That sounds like a lot but here’s the breakdown:
AM:
- 15 min dog walk
- 15 mins by myself after ditching the bulldogs.
PM:
- Repeat the AM or do 30 mins on my treadmill
I highly doubt I’ll hit all the PM sessions. Hitting all the AM sessions plus the PM on days I don’t workout would be great.
Goal Activity 2:
100 push ups a day for 30 days
I always like this challenge and I’m convinced it sparks growth in the pecs and even triceps.
The Training
The Equipment:
Right now I don’t have much equipment, but I have some. So my targets reflect my available equipment and my needs.
- PowerBlocks to 70 pounds
- adjustable bench
- chin-dip station
- a treadmill.
The Training Needs to Address:
The basic movement patterns. Horizontal press & row, vertical press (or dip) and pull, squat, and hip hinge.
Stuff I neglect and can effectively prioritize:
- mobility
- single leg work (I find it really helps with low back pain, and you don’t need a barbell)
- upper back stuff
- triceps!
- forearms
- core
As I’ve noted: I refuse to do garbage work, which is what most of the home workouts you see online tend to be.
To emphasize perfect form and avoid garbage work but still get a training effect I plan to use EMOM (every movement of the month) protocols.
EMOM:
EMOM means “every minute on the minute.” These are normally done with 1-2 pairings per workout. The key is to use sub-max loads so you can maintain perfect form and let cumulative fatigue do the ass-kicking.
Low rep sub-max sets (2-5 reps) are best with big lifts like squats, deadlifts, dips, bench presses, and chin-ups. With smaller, less demanding exercises you can do more reps without getting gassed.
You must start a new set every minute. On odd minutes you’ll do exercise 1 and on even minutes you do exercise 2.
Example:
- Start 3 reps chin-ups
- 1:00 10 push-ups or 3 dips
- 2:00 3 reps chin-ups
- 3:00 10 push-ups or 3 dips
For 14-20 mins total. Then some basic hypertrophy work after.
So, here’s what I got:
DAY 1
Warm up: wall slides, 50 band over & backs, alternating lunges, hip mobility circuit, prayer squat.
Couch stretch, piriformis stretch, band pec stretch
EMOM x 20 Mins
A1: Push Ups x 10
rest remainder of minute
A2: Pause Goblet Squat x 10 (3 sec eccentric, pause 1 sec in bottom position)
rest remainder of minute
…up to 20 mins total
B1: DB Bulgarian Split Squat 3 x 8-10 rest 60
B2: DB RDL 3 x 12-15 rest 60
C: Shoulder Giant sets – 3 rounds
- lateral raise
- alternating lateral raise
- front raise
- DB push press
- DB high pull
- DB shrug
D1. Lying DB Powell Raise 3 x 8-10 rest 60
D2. DB Trap 3 Raise 3 x 6-8 rest 60
E1: Calves if I care
E2: Garhammer leg raise
F: Band Triceps Pressdowns to 100 reps
DAY 2
Warm up: wall slides, 50 band over & backs, alternating lunges, hip mobility circuit, prayer squat.
Couch stretch, piriformis stretch, band pec stretch
EMOM x 20 Mins
A1: Pull ups x 2 (eccentric focus)
rest remainder of minute
A2: Dip x 2 (eccentric focus)
rest remainder of minute
…up to 20 mins total
*** I am detrained at this point so 10 sets of 2 of chins and dips will be hard. Form has to be perfect, especially for dips, which haven’t been kind to my shoulders. This superset might not be around for 30 days ***
B1: DB Press 3 x 10-12 rest 45
B2: DB Row 3 x 10-12 rest 45
B3: DB Pullover (chest focus) 3 x 10-12 rest 45
C1: DB Curl 3 x 10-12 rest 45
C2: DB Tricep Extension 3 x 10-12 rest 45
C3: DB Pullover (triceps focus) 3 x 10-12 rest 45
D1. Reverse Wrist Curl
D2. Wrist Curl
D3: Wrist Roll
E1: Calves if I care
E2: Ab wheel
F: Push Ups race to 100 reps
(Gotta get my 100 a day.)
Lots of exercise, I know, and subject to change.
I am most looking forward to seeing how I feel after so much walking, and if it improves my resting heart rate.
– Bryan