Alright resolutioners, what kind of trainer would I be if I let you go out and figure out how to lose weight on your own or take advice from some meat head who learned everything he knows from the “well it worked for me” theory? Luckily for you, I also set myself on a plan to burn a little fat and increase my endurance for the next month or two, so I’ll try to keep my promise to post more workouts and keep you occupied. With that being said, I challenge you to try this workout! I wrote it specifically to trim some holiday belly fat and to make my tree trunk legs grow even bigger. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be at my fitness level in order to finish it. The main point of this workout is to finish it as quickly as possible. This way, you have a certain time to beat next time around (after your legs quit feeling like Jell-O and you regain feeling in your rock-hard lower back again). Here’s how it goes:
Start with a good warm up – whatever it takes to loosen up your legs, hips, and midsection.
Bike – 3 minutes
Deep Body Squats – 3 sets of 10
Stretch anything still tight and shake it out
Here comes the fun part… Start the timer.
You’re going to back squat 135 lbs for 100 reps… (I broke my reps up into 25, 20, 20, 35)
If you’re a beginner or that sounds too heavy, stick with body weight. Rule #1: every time you run out of breath and have to pause for more than 5 seconds at the top, rack the weight – you earned yourself a “quitter’s set.” Every time you have to set the weight down for resting, you must do a set of 5 box jumps (My box height was 30’) and 10 hanging knee raises. Catch your breath and get back under the bar. The clock is still ticking. Once you’ve reached 100 reps, complete one more quitter set then stop the time. How long did you take? Write down your time. Can you beat it next time? Can you beat my time – 10 min 56 seconds?
The hard part is over, but the workout is not. Go ahead and take a 5 minute break and walk around. Grab a drink. It’s time for the bonus round. You’re about to lunge 200 meters… That’s 100 lunges per leg. I split it up into 4 sets of 25 lunges each leg. Take your time and practice good form.
Did you finish? How many lunges did you do before giving up? Write it down. Can you beat that number next time?
One last movement for all the overachievers. Rapid Flutter Kicks. Lay on your back, arms at your side, crunch up slightly and raise your legs so that the only thing on the ground is your butt. Point your toes and kick them as quickly as you can like you’re swimming. Faster! Your hip flexors will be screaming, your abs will tighten up, and your quads will be giving up on you, but this is your last workout so go all out. Complete your reps in this fashion, with minimal rest periods in between – 50 (each leg), 40, 30, 20, 10. Done! No more. Congratulations. Be sure to write down all your numbers so you have a goal to surpass next time. Now cool down, keep moving around for the next half hour, stretch out extremely well, then go ice. 2016 is your year. Stay motivated and stay educated. Call, text, or email me if you need any help along the way.
More workouts to come…
TJ Williamson, NSCA-CPT
KDS-Strength 