Happy Thanksgiving! It's a little ironic that I'm posting this on this supreme day of gluttony, but today I picked up my home gym equipment from Craigslist and I'm so stoked! (More on this later). Before you scroll down for the workout, full disclosure: I will be posting the workout tomorrow. This became a monster of a post, so I'm splitting it into two parts. Today's is just about why and how I programmed it.
I sat down and developed this workout routine based on knowledge about Crossfit, bodybuilding, and athletic conditioning workouts that I've amassed over the years. When I first started lifting, I followed workouts from Shape, Bodybuilding.com, or whatever I saw in fitness magazines. There is so much information about fitness to wade through, and I found myself slogging through 2-hour workouts because I didn't know which movements to prioritize #struggz. Over time, I learned to differentiate a good workout from a bad one. I knew how to tweak workouts to make them faster or more intense in the same amount of time. I learned which movements made me the strongest and leanest and most badass.
The commandments of this workout are as follows:
1. Thou shalt not spend your entire day working out. Ain't nobody got time to do 2-a-days, count macros, or all of the other crazy things that people who get paid to be fit full-time do. I have gained a lot of insight from personal trainers who blog about fitness, but honestly, sometimes I can't even drag myself to the gym, either due to time or simple activation energy. If you have a full-time+ job, an active social life, and stuff like, I dunno, other goals or hobbies other than being ripped, it's important to just get in and get out. That's why I focus on full-body training and compound movements /Olympic lifts with short rest times. Each of these are simple, effective, and leave me sore the next day. I incorporate some assistance exercises (so it's like a full-body split /4-day split hybrid), but those can be omitted if you are pressed for time.
2. Thou shalt not regret your existence during the duration of the workout. I think you can only stick to something long-term if you actually enjoy doing it. I hate, hate, hate, LOATHE steady-state cardio. Staring at someone's butt for an hour on the elliptical is my version of Hell. And my mile time is like, 15 minutes. What I do love are burpees until I puke, thrusters until my legs are jelly, etc. I actually relish working out if I have something challenging planned out. So the 2 cardio days are composed of longer Crossfit WODs that use weights and dynamic body weight exercises that completely smoke me in <45 minutes.
3. Thou shalt not be in pain. I have a nagging lower back injury from a few months ago that caused me to take a hiatus from Crossfit, so I'm avoiding deadlifts and bent-over rows. I love training my back and hamstrings, but not letting myself heal left me hobbling around and unable to sit up straight. So now that I've learned my lesson, I've incorporated a lot of ab work, chin-ups, and glutes to train around my injuries.
So that's it! Stay tuned for the workout tomorrow. But I don't want to leave you empty-handed, so here's a little Ryan Gosling. You're welcome.
I sat down and developed this workout routine based on knowledge about Crossfit, bodybuilding, and athletic conditioning workouts that I've amassed over the years. When I first started lifting, I followed workouts from Shape, Bodybuilding.com, or whatever I saw in fitness magazines. There is so much information about fitness to wade through, and I found myself slogging through 2-hour workouts because I didn't know which movements to prioritize #struggz. Over time, I learned to differentiate a good workout from a bad one. I knew how to tweak workouts to make them faster or more intense in the same amount of time. I learned which movements made me the strongest and leanest and most badass.
The commandments of this workout are as follows:
1. Thou shalt not spend your entire day working out. Ain't nobody got time to do 2-a-days, count macros, or all of the other crazy things that people who get paid to be fit full-time do. I have gained a lot of insight from personal trainers who blog about fitness, but honestly, sometimes I can't even drag myself to the gym, either due to time or simple activation energy. If you have a full-time+ job, an active social life, and stuff like, I dunno, other goals or hobbies other than being ripped, it's important to just get in and get out. That's why I focus on full-body training and compound movements /Olympic lifts with short rest times. Each of these are simple, effective, and leave me sore the next day. I incorporate some assistance exercises (so it's like a full-body split /4-day split hybrid), but those can be omitted if you are pressed for time.
2. Thou shalt not regret your existence during the duration of the workout. I think you can only stick to something long-term if you actually enjoy doing it. I hate, hate, hate, LOATHE steady-state cardio. Staring at someone's butt for an hour on the elliptical is my version of Hell. And my mile time is like, 15 minutes. What I do love are burpees until I puke, thrusters until my legs are jelly, etc. I actually relish working out if I have something challenging planned out. So the 2 cardio days are composed of longer Crossfit WODs that use weights and dynamic body weight exercises that completely smoke me in <45 minutes.
3. Thou shalt not be in pain. I have a nagging lower back injury from a few months ago that caused me to take a hiatus from Crossfit, so I'm avoiding deadlifts and bent-over rows. I love training my back and hamstrings, but not letting myself heal left me hobbling around and unable to sit up straight. So now that I've learned my lesson, I've incorporated a lot of ab work, chin-ups, and glutes to train around my injuries.
So that's it! Stay tuned for the workout tomorrow. But I don't want to leave you empty-handed, so here's a little Ryan Gosling. You're welcome.
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