Training Days: Can be altered to suit your training regime. 2days on 1day off generally works best as a base.

Exercises: Most of the exercises found in this program are multi-joint exercises. This encourages a healthy body throughout. Multi-joint exercises promote good biomechanics and usually translate to greater growth hormone output, better posture & circulation, less physical stress, relative muscular development and most relevantly more potential for gains.

Technique: The most important thing when following a structured exercise routine is to achieve consistently good form. During phases I & 2, you should train to form not failure. For example, if you were training for 20 reps, you should choose a weight that allows you to perform all 20 reps with good form. However, during phases 2 & 3, you may train to failure some of the time – meaning you can afford to allow muscle compensations and get help from a spotting partner. Exercise descriptions and technique cues can be found in the links below the program.

Diet: A huge contributing factor to the success of this program will be your food intake. As the program progresses your energy expenditure will increase and therefore your caloric requirements will be higher. Of course, moderation in indulgences will be most beneficial. Choose whole, fresh foods over packaged or preserved foods. This will in turn place less stress on your digestive system and give your body a better environment in which to recover. Experiment with “loading days” if you find it hard to moderate excess carbohydrate or caloric intake. Take 3 consecutive days where you consume higher protein foods and low to no carbohydrates, then the following day lower your protein intake and consume more carbohydrate rich foods. This can help to achieve a consistent balance for your body between choosing to use fat reserves or carbohydrates for energy.

Phase I: Base Conditioning (2 weeks) 2 day split

15-20 reps | 3-3-3 Rep speed | 4x exercises per circuit | 45sec rest between circuits | 5x circuits total

Day 1 (Lower Body, Core):

Day 2 (Upper Body):

Phase II: Hypertrophy I (2 weeks) 4 day split

10-12 reps | 2-1-3 Rep speed | 30sec rest between sets | 4-5 sets per exercise

Day 1 (Legs – Anterior, Core):

Day 2 (Upper Body – Posterior):

Day 3 (Legs – Posterior, Core):

Day 4 (Upper Body – Anterior):

Phase III: Hypertrophy II (2 weeks) 4 day split

Same Exercises as Phase II | 6-8 reps | 2-1-3 Rep speed | 1min rest between sets | 3-4 sets per exercise

Swap order of exercises on upper body days. You may add some isolated exercises during this phase, e.g. Barbell Bicep Curls on Day 2, or Cable Tricep Pushdowns on Day 4.

Phase IV: Power (2 weeks) 2 day split

20secs timed per set |MAX Rep speed | 90sec rest between sets | 3-4 sets per exercise | 60-70% of 1RM

Day 2 (Upper Body):

Exercises:

Google and Youtube are your best friends when it comes to finding correct exercise technique. The following, however, are a bit harder to find:

Supine Hip Raises –http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/GluteusMaximus/BWLyingHipExtension.html

Static Lunges – http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/DBSplitSquat.html

Swiss Ball Jacknives – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y03dkaK1O0

Swiss Ball Twisters – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF2skG_q0Uw&feature=related

Power Push Press – http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/OlympicLifts/PushPress.html

Kipping Pull-Up – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAZaHzd6qAY

Swiss Ball Russian Twist – http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-torso-twists-swiss-ball-151866/

Horizontal Suspended Pullups – Using suspension straps or a bar on a smith machine. Lie flat on your back underneath the straps with your arms straight. Grip the straps and pull your chest up to them keeping your knees bent slightly (or straight for a more challenging exercise). Lower under control and repeat for reps.

Horizontal Suspended Pull-up Jumps – Same as above but explosively pull out of the bottom portion of the rep while thrusting your hips up in the air and jumping your feet slightly off the ground. Must have knees bent for this version.

apples

I often hear people in the gym wondering why they’re not seeing any results. You may be thinking – I just need to work a bit harder… You’re exercise routine may be absolutely perfect yet something is stopping you from getting the results you deserve – nutrition.

When it comes to the diet – the first thing that comes to mind is calories in vs. calories out – we’ve all heard this at some stage or another. You must burn more calories than you consume to lose weight. While this statement definitely has its scientific merit, it is the types of food we choose that really make the difference.

Let us examine a popular “healthy” cereal (brand will remain unnamed). The ingredients are listed on the back as: wheat, rice, sugar, dried fruit (sultanas, paw paw, apple),  wheat flour, skim milk powder, vegetable oil (palm oil), honey, yoghurt coated currants (2%)(currants, sugar, palm kernel oil, milk solids, skim milk yoghurt powder, food acid [270], emulsifier [soy lecithin], flour, tapioca starch), almonds (2%),  wheatgerm, molasses, coconut (1%), salt, barley malt extract, minerals (iron, zinc oxide), vitamins (niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, vitamin C), preservative (220).

While this example is modest (it is advertised as a health food after all!), consider foods with even more flavours, colours, preservatives, stabilizers & refined flours or powders listed in the ingredients. Over time, these things place an enormous amount of stress on the digestive system. When your body is under digestive stress, many of the normal processes that are used to repair muscle tissue, free fatty acids and convert carbohydrate to energy become inhibited.

eggs

Factor in a tough exercise regime and you have a body that is chronically under stress. Your nervous system becomes sympathetic dominant (fight or flight mode) leaving you feeling tired, anxious, overworked & stressed. You continue to do this until your body tells you to stop and forces you to slow down (illness/disease/injury). In this state you are also more likely to be tempted toward comfort foods.

To provide an environment where you get the most of your training – you must eat fresh, healthy foods. If you are still feeling the need to eat “dead” calories – then it may be helpful to start optimizing your workout first to encourage a healthy eating regime. More about this in articles to come.

If you are interested in planning a diet for yourself, take the following steps to ensure a healthy nutritional plan to support your exercise program:

1. Choose fresh foods over packaged foods. For example, at breakfast –choose a piece of fruit instead of cereal, make an omelette or have some yoghurt.
2. Don’t over-eat. Overeating will cause a number of issues with digestion and blood-sugar levels: making you feel even more tired and fatigued.
3. Eat slowly. This goes hand-in-hand with point 2. When you eat slowly you give your body some time to digest the food you’ve just eaten, hence you can monitor your satiety better.
4. Spread your eating times throughout the day if you can. The easiest way to do this would be to make one big meal (e.g. chicken & salad) take it to work and periodically go and eat a little bit at a time.

Obtaining a healthy body is all about balance. If we begin supporting one system (nutrition) we can begin to appreciate the results of another (exercise).

Stay tuned as we will soon be introducing our Dietmaster nutrition program to Spirit. We will be able to sit down with you, discuss your goals and provide you with a specific 7-day meal plan and guidelines in a one hour consultation