There are a whole bunch of training programs out there that assume that you will train every single day, no matter what. However, if you trained every day no matter what, you wouldn’t be out of shape in the first place.
This training plan is different. It is designed to get you back into shape by first getting you to associate pleasure to working out. It works on the basis of having a minimum and maximum target for each session. On a day when you really don’t feel like working out, you do the minimum. When you’ve completed the minimum workout, you are in a better position to choose whether to do the full workout or not.
After a few weeks of following it, you will find it easy to complete the full workout every time, and will only fall back to the minimum when you really need to – these are the days when the old you would have skipped the session.
The plan as its laid out below does not assume that you can already do the number of prescribed reps. The reps are your goal. If at the start you can only do 15 push-ups, start there and you’ll build up to the prescribed number of reps by training 4-5 times per week, and aim to increase by 1-2 reps in each workout. The article on “how to increase press-ups” will be useful. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you get to 30, then 50 reps. Once you can do this number of reps with ease, you will need a new training plan – and I’ll give you one.
Ideally you’ll have a chin-up bar or some way of doing a rowing motion to work your back & biceps. If you don’t have a chinup bar, do the workout minus chin-ups, and buy one from the shops at some time during the week. Here are the workouts:
Maximum (Workout Goal):
50 push-ups, 30 squats, 10-20 chin-ups, 30 lunges (on each leg), 50 sit ups, 50 supermans (lower back)
This entire workout will only take about 10-15 mins. Take as little rest as possible, and aim to reduce the time of the entire workout.
If this workout is too easy for you, do incline pressups; up to 50 jumping squats & lunges; and up to 100 sit ups and supermans.
Bare Minimum (Acceptable Daily Workout):
50 pushups, 30 squats.
Do this every day, no matter what. Obviously if you can’t do this number, do as many as you can, increasing each day using the techniques in the “how to increase your press-ups” article. Don’t wait until you can do 50 press ups before you do the full six exercises above. You can do all six on day 1. The point is if on day 4 or 5, you feel like skipping the session, just do the press-ups and squats. You can do that everyday, can’t you?
Most people advise not to do strength training every day. The hardest boxers and mixed martial artists I know consider the type of workout laid out above as their daily warmup before they start their MMA training. They consider ‘real’ training as a hard-core heavy weight-training workout – the type you can build up to when daily training is completely natural to you.
If your muscles feel a bit sore on day 2, that is a good sign, and after you do the first 5-10 pushups on day 2, that muscular pain will go away as blood goes to your muscles and they warm up. You can keep training.
Disclaimer: If in doubt, see a physician before engaging in any training program.
When I’m out of shape or haven’t been working out for a while, I only need to do this for a week or two before I’m back to achieving the “maximum” daily training goal. At this point I’ll start the next phase of strength training.
