WORKOUTS
GUIDE
T
Intro
here are only two things you can do
to improve your physical appearance.
You can build muscle and you can lose
fat. That’s it. The concept of “firming and
toning” that you might be familiar with
is actually no more than losing fat or
building muscle, or a combination of both. Your
body does not understand what firming and
toning means, it understands increasing muscle
and losing fat.
Muscle cells get bigger or smaller. Fat cells do the
same. One cannot turn into the other. In other
words you can’t turn fat into muscle any easier
than you can turn water into wine. And when you
stop working out muscle can’t magically turn into
fat. It simply shrinks. When that happens you look
fatter because the less muscle you have the
harder it is to stay lean. The more muscle you
have the more calories you burn at rest each day
and the leaner you will be. Pretty simple concept.
Despite what women’s fitness magazines have
told you, females absolutely need to lift heavy
weights and must constantly strive to get
stron-ger. You don’t have the muscle building hormones
of your male counterparts so it will be even
harder for you to build muscle. That means you
really have to force your body to adapt by
constantly challenging it with heavier weights
and harder sets.
That also means that you should never worry
about getting big and bulky. It isn’t going to
happen. You are not set up for it. There are
millions of men all over the world, who have
substantially superior hormones for building
muscle, that are unsuccessfully attempting to
get big and bulky by lifting weights. The take
home message is that as a female you simply
don’t have the hormonal profile to get big and
bulky. Immediately dismiss that idea if you’re
worried about it.
The single most important factor in strength
training is progressive overload. You must strive
to get stronger with every passing workout. That
means you have to do at least one more rep
than you did last time or you have to use a
heavier weight than you have before. For small,
incremental weight increases it’s always a great
idea to have some Fractional Plates. These will
allow you to add as a little as a pound to the
bar versus the minimum of five pounds you’re
usually limited to in public gyms where the
smallest plate is 2.5 pounds. This helps ensure
steady progress.
Complete exercise descriptions
and logs at end of guide.
overload forces adaptation. Bigger weights on
the bar = bigger, rounder, tighter glutes.
So always keep track of all your reps and weight
on each and every set you do. Try to beat them
as often as possible and set long term goals for
yourself.
During the first 60 days of the Bikini Body plan
you’ll be doing three full body strength-training
workouts per week. If you want to shape up
your glutes you’ve got to train them more
frequently than once per week, as most
body-building or fitness magazines would have you
doing. So they’ll be getting hit every other day
as will the rest of you major muscle groups.
There is a fourth day which is more conditioning
based. If you can only get three days in per
week do the main strength days and skip the
conditioning session on the weekends. For the
fastest results in the shortest time we
recom-mend doing all four sessions.
The main portion of the workout is short and
sweet, focusing only on big, compound
exercis-es that build the most muscle and strength. If
you want to make a dramatic transformation in
only sixty days you don’t have time to waste on
little foo-foo exercises that don’t do anything
but slightly elevate your heart rate. You need
bang-for-your-buck movements that pack on the
greatest amount of lean muscle where it counts
and help you burn tons of calories all day long.
The number one reason ladies, and guys for that
matter, fail to make progress and see any
notice-able changes in their physiques is because they
don’t increase the weight they are using. They are
stuck spinning their wheels using the same old
weights for the same number of reps and guess
what? They look the same as they always have!
Think about it this way: your current muscle mass
allows you to lift a certain weight. If you are
looking to increase the amount of muscle you
have it only make sense that you would need to
increase the amount of weight you’re capable of
using. This forces your body to adapt to the
heavier load by building the muscle necessary to
lift that load. It also comes along with increasing
your metabolism, burning more fat, and getting
that “toned” look you so longingly desire.
If you have flat glutes right now and want that
Jessica Biel circa 2007 looking ass, it’s only going
to happen if you add 20-50 pounds to your squat,
deadlift, glute bridge and hip thrust (don’t worry
if you don’t know what those are yet, they are
explained later). If you are currently able to do a
barbell glute bridge with 135 pounds for ten reps
you need to set your sights on 185 pounds and
work your way there as fast as possible.
If you continue to do 135 your glutes will never
change. The only thing that is going to change
The single most
important factor in
strength training is
progressive overload.
T
The Warm Up
he first part of any good strength
training workout is a proper warm
up. You can’t just walk into the gym cold
and start squatting and deadlifting or
doing whatever other people do who
never make any progress. You have to
elevate your body temperature, lubricate your
joints and get loose and mobile to prepare for the
serious work ahead.
Your warm up will start with foam rolling. Going
through a quick sequence for every body-part will
help improve tissue quality and ensure a better
workout. For each muscle group listed you will
roll for 20-30 seconds per side. So you’ll do your
left hamstring for 20-30 seconds then your right
hamstring for 20-30 seconds and then move on
to the next muscle group.
If you have been foam rolling for a while and
aren’t getting much out of it anymore we suggest
buying a Rumble Roller. The difference is night
and day and you will feel a huge improvement in
your tissue health once you start using the
Rumble Roller for a few weeks.
Sometimes even the Rumble Roller isn’t enough
to get to your glutes so you may want to switch
to using a lacrosse ball on them. Even though
it’s pretty painful it’s quite worth it and will go a
long way toward making you feel better,
preventing injuries and improving your
perfor-mance.
One other recommendation we make is that
before you even start your foam rolling you roll
the bottoms of your feet (with shoes off) with a
golf ball. Most people have serious issues with
their feet from poor posture or lousy footwear
so using the golf ball rolling technique is highly
recommended and can make your knees and
hips feel a lot better.
The Warm Up
Foam Rolling
Sets
Reps
Rest
1) Hamstrings
1
20-30 sec.
10
2) Calves
1
20-30 sec.
10
3) Glutes
1
20-30 sec.
10
4) Quads
1
20-30 sec.
10
5) Hip Flexors
1
20-30 sec.
10
6) Adductors
1
20-30 sec.
10
7) IT Band
1
20-30 sec.
10
8) Lower Back
1
20-30 sec.
10
9) Lats
1
20-30 sec.
10
10) Upper Back
1
20-30 sec.
10
11) Thoracic Extensions
1
20-30 sec.
10
1) Jumping Jacks
1
30
10
2) Prisoner Squat
1
15
10
3) Front Warrior Pose
1
30 sec.
10
4) Forward Leg Swing
1
10
10
5) Side to Side Leg Swing
1
10
10
6) Shoulder Dislocation w/ Band
1
20
10
7) Band Pull Apart
1
20
10
8) Cat/ Camel
1
10
10
9) Bird/ Dog
1
5
10
10) Clam
1
15
10
12) Glute Bridge
1
20
10
13) Downward Dog Pumping Calf Stretch
1
30 sec.
10
14) Cossack Squat
1
10
90
A
The Workouts
fter the foam rolling and general warm
up is complete you’ll move on to the
main workout. Before you start your
main work sets you’ll want to do 2-4
lighter warm up sets on each
exercise.
Let’s say you’re starting with squats and you
know that you’re going to be using 95 pounds for
your main work sets. You wouldn’t just put 95
pounds on the bar and get after it. The first set
should just be the 45 pound bar for a set of ten
reps. After that you’d do a set of 65 for 5-8 reps
and maybe one more set of 80-85 for one more
set of 3-5 reps.
The stronger you are and the more weight you
will be using the more warm up sets you will
need. For example, if you are deadlifting 225
pounds you’d do a set with the bar, a set with 95,
a set with 135 and a set with 185 and one final
set of 2-3 reps at 205 pounds.
After you have completed the 2-4 warm up sets
you begin your work sets. During warm up sets
you don’t have to time your rest periods but on
the work sets timing them is imperative. The
reason for that is so you can track your weights
and know if you are truly getting stronger from
week to week or if you are just resting longer
between sets.
Strength Progression
On the first week of the program start at the
higher end of the rep range. So if the reps are
listed as 6-10 you’ll start with a weight you can
do for ten reps on the first set. Do as many as
you can on the following sets and record it on
your log sheets. The next time you do that
workout you’ll want to try and add some weight
to the bar and do ten reps again. Obviously, this
won’t always be possible so your reps will
eventually start to fall. That’s fine and
complete-ly normal. Once you get down to the point
where you can no longer do six reps you’d
lighten the weight a bit and start over with ten
reps at the following workout.
So if you did 65 pounds on squats for ten reps
at your first session you’d add weight to the bar
at your next workout. Ideally you would have
Fractional Plates, which would allow you to
make small jumps and go up to 67 pounds. If
you don’t order Fractional Plates you’ll have to
jump up to 70 pounds by putting a 2.5 pound
plate on each side. You’ll then do that for as
many reps as you can. If you get ten again,
that’s great. In that case you’d add weight again
next workout. If you only get eight reps then
you’d keep the weight the same and try to get
ten reps at the next workout. Keep adding
weight or reps at every successive session
throughout the program.
Day 4 Workouts
The Day 4 workouts are a conditioning based
circuit using sleds, battling ropes, kettlebells and
boxes. If you train in a well-equipped gym you’ll
be able to do all of these without a problem.
You can substitute sprints on a bike for the sled
dragging if you don’t have access to a sled.
Simply crank up the resistance and pedal hard
for thirty seconds. If, however, you don’t have
access to any of these implements it wouldn’t
make sense to attempt to make substitutes for
the entire workout. In that case you can simply
sub in a sprint session on this day. This will be
explained in the cardio section.
Two-Week Rotation
The workouts are set up on a two-week
rotation. There are three different workouts on
Week 1 and three different workouts on Week 2.
One time through each week is one cycle. You
will go through four cycles for a total of eight
weeks then take a de-load or complete week
off.
So weeks 1, 3, 5 and 7 are the same and weeks
2, 4, 6 and 8 are the same. That means that a
full two weeks will pass before you repeat the
same workout. By that time you should have
gotten plenty stronger and 5-10 pound jumps
shouldn’t be a problem.
Alternating Supersets
The workouts are set up in non-competing,
antagonistic alternating superset fashion. What
that means is that you will do a set of a lower
body exercise, rest sixty seconds, then do a set
of an upper body exercise. You will then go back
to the lower body exercise for your second set,
rest sixty seconds, then do another set of the
upper body exercise. These will be listed in the
workouts as exercise 1a and exercise 1b. You
will repeat that for three rounds then move on
to the second two exercises which will be
grouped together as 2a and 2b. When you start
on the second group of exercises you should
first do 1-3 quick warm up sets and then get
into your work sets.
The Workouts Weeks 1, 3, 5 & 7
Post Workout Core Circuit
After each workout you are going to do the following core circuit two times, holding each position for 30 seconds.
1a) Plank
1b) Side Plank
1c) Iso Hold Glute Bridge
1d) Prone Mountain
Rest as little time as possible between exercises, moving from one position to the next for two rounds of each.
Day 1
Sets
Reps
Rest
1a) Back Squat
3
5-8
60
1b) Pushup
3
8-12
60
2a) 1 Leg Hip Thrust
3
12-20
60
2b) Inverted Row
3
6-10
60
Day 2
Sets
Reps
Rest
1a) Barbell Glute Bridge
3
10-15
60
1b) Pronated DB Military Press
3
6-10
60
2a) Walking Lunge
3
8-12
60
Post Workout Core Circuit
After each workout you are going to do the following core circuit two times, holding each position for 30 seconds.
1a) Plank
1b) Side Plank
1c) Iso Hold Glute Bridge
1d) Prone Mountain
Rest as little time as possible between exercises, moving from one position to the next for two rounds of each.
The Workouts Weeks 1, 3, 5 & 7
Day 3
Sets
Reps
Rest
1a) Straight or Trap Bar Deadlift
3
5-8
60
1b) Incline DB Press
3
8-12
60
2a) High Step Up
3
15-20
60
2b) Rope Face Pull
3
10-15
60
Day 4
Sets
Reps
Rest
1a) Lateral/ Slalom Jump
4
30 sec.
30
1b) Forward Sled Push/Drag
4
30 sec.
30
1c) Alternate Battling Ropes
4
30 sec.
30
1d) 1 Arm Farmers Walk*
4
30 sec.
30
1e) 1 Arm Kettlebell Snatch**
4
30 sec.
30
*Do 1 arm, rest, do the other arm
After each workout you are going to do the following core circuit two times, holding each position for 30 seconds.
1a) Plank
1b) Side Plank
1c) Iso Hold Glute Bridge
1d) Prone Mountain
Rest as little time as possible between exercises, moving from one position to the next for two rounds of each.
Post Workout Core Circuit
Day 1
Sets
Reps
Rest
1a) Back Squat
3
15-20
60
1b) Parallel Grip Chin Up or Pulldown
3
5-8
60
2a) Back Extension
3
15-20
60
2b) Standing Barbell Military Press
3
6-10
60
Day 2
Sets
Reps
Rest
1a) Barbell Hip Thrust
3
10-15
60
1b) 1 Arm DB Row
3
8-12
60
2a) Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat
3
8-12
60
2b) 1 Arm Flat DB Press
3
6-10
60
The Workouts Weeks 2, 4, 6 & 8
Post Workout Core Circuit
The Workouts Weeks 2, 4, 6 & 8
Day 3
Sets
Reps
Rest
1a) Barbell or DB Romanian Deadlift
3
6-10
60
1b) Supinated Chin Up or Pulldown
3
6-10
60
2a) Reverse Lunge
3
15-20
60
2b) Neutral Grip Standing DB Military Press 3
8-12
60
Day 4
Sets
Reps
Rest
1a) Low Box Jump
4
30 sec.
30
1b) Backward Sled Drag
4
30 sec.
30
1c) Battling Rope Slams
4
30 sec.
30
1d) 1 Arm Racked Kettlebell Walk
4
30 sec.
30
1e) Kettlebell Swing
4
30 sec.
30
After each workout you are going to do the following core circuit two times, holding each position for 30 seconds.
1a) Plank
1b) Side Plank
1c) Iso Hold Glute Bridge
1d) Prone Mountain
Cardio
High Intensity Interval
Training (HIIT)
Strength training is going to make the biggest
difference in your quest to transform your
physique. Cardio or conditioning is simply the
icing on the cake. Day 4 of each week is a hard
conditioning based circuit that should take you
no more than 20-25 minutes to complete.
Please note that during the first week of the
program you should only go through the Day 4
circuits three times; not four. On the second
week you can increase to four rounds if you got
through the first week without a struggle.
As previously noted, if you don’t have access to
all of the equipment for Day 4 you can simply
sub in a sprint session on this day.
The Day 4 workouts will count as one high
intensity interval training (HIIT) session. In
addition to that you will be doing one other
HIIT session per week. Ideally this session
would be 10-20 minutes of hill or sled sprints.
After warming up thoroughly you will sprint hard
for 20-30 seconds then rest for 40-60 seconds. Do
this for ten minutes. Each week add two minutes
to the workout until you get two twenty minutes
total. There’s no need to do much more than that
so keep all future sprint sessions at around
twenty minutes, not counting warm up time.
If you don’t have a hill to sprint up or a sled to
drag or push you will use a bike and do intervals.
Follow the same prescription and be sure to
crank up the resistance quite high on the bike, so
that despite your best efforts you aren’t able to
move the pedals very fast. If done correctly it
should feel like your legs are going to explode
and your heart is going to come out of your chest
by the time you reach the thirty second mark.
This second weekly session should be done on a
training day. The ideal choice is to do it 4-6 hours
before or after your strength-training workout. If
that’s not possible it can be done immediately
following strength training.
So the full program is three strength-training
sessions and two HIIT sessions per week.
Low Intensity Cardio
Lower intensity cardio is great for developing an
aerobic base, it’s good for your health, it
improves your recovery and it helps you burn
some extra fat. If you had to pick one or the
other purely for fat burning purposes HIIT is
better. But there is enough value in low intensity
cardio to warrant including it in your Bikini Body
transformation plan.
SLow intensity cardio is simply walking or riding
a bike. It should be done on off days for thirty
minutes, first thing in the morning before you
eat anything. The only thing you can have before
is water and black coffee. The coffee will actually
help free up some fatty acids to burn during the
session so it would benefit you to have a cup.
This shouldn’t be an intense effort but you do
want to keep your heart rate in the range of
115-130 beats per minute to derive the greatest
benefit. For a more precise formula subtract your
age from 220 then use 70% of that to determine
your optimal heart rate for low intensity cardio.
So if you’re 35 years old you would subtract 35
from 220 to get 185. Then you simply multiply
185 by .7 and you get 129 beats per minute. If
you drop slightly below this it’s certainly not the
end of the world, just try to stay within range for
thirty minutes. If you’re only walking at a snails
pace, with your heart rate at 75 beats per minute
it’s fairly useless. So push the pace but don’t kill
yourself.
Start with two low intensity cardio sessions per
week and assess your progress in 3-4 weeks. If
you’re losing fat at a slower rate than you would
like increase to three sessions per week and
then, eventually four. Just don’t start with four
sessions per week right out of the gate or you’ll
have no tricks up your sleeve and nothing to add
when progress comes to a halt and you hit a
plateau some time down the road.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: If I have been training for the last
two or three months without taking a week
off or de-loading at all am I okay to jump
right into the program?
Answer: No. If you have been training more
than four weeks straight without doing a lighter
de-load week please take a week off completely
or de-load with a very light week before you
start the Bikini Body Workouts program. This will
ensure that you are fresh and make the most
progress on the program.
Question: How do I record my workouts on
the training log sheets?
Answer: Write your weights first then the
number of reps you did. So if you squatted 95
pounds for 6 reps it would look like this: 95 x 6.
If you got 95 for 6 reps on your first two sets and
only 5 reps on your third set it would look like
this: 95 x 6, 95 x 6, 95 x 5. Each week you try to
add weight or reps whenever possible.
Question: How do I know when to increase
my weights?
Answer: You want to master your technique first
and foremost. So never sacrifice form for weight.
But once you are dominating a weight you need
to do more reps with it or add weight to the bar.
Progressive overload (doing more than last time)
is the most important factor in strength training
and body transformation.
Question: Can I do yoga on my off days
once or twice a week?
Answer: Yes. You can even do yoga as a second
workout on training days, 4-6 hours before or
after your workouts.
Question: Can I add more exercises for
my abs?
Answer: No. Please don’t. The point of
resis-tance training is to build muscle. You squat,
deadlift and hip thrust to make your glutes
bigger. So obviously, training your abs directly
with sit ups would have the same effect. You
don’t want to make your abs bigger, which is
what most direct ab exercises will do (along with
potentially ruining your posture and destroying
your lower back). You want to get leaner so your
abs can peak through and maintain a small, trim
waist. Stick with squats, deadlifts, overhead
presses, pushups and loaded carries and your
abs will get all the work they need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What is abdominal bracing?
Answer: Abdominal bracing is critical while
lifting weights and should be practiced every
single time you touch a weight whether it be
picking it up off the rack, doing an exercise with
it, or putting it back on the rack. You brace your
abs like you would if you were getting ready to
take a punch in the stomach. It protects your
lower back and maximizes tension throughhout
your body so you stay as tight as possible.
Question: What does it mean to maintain a
neutral spine?
Answer:It means that your spine is in perfect
alignment all the way from your neck to you
tailbone. Most importantly, your mid and lower
back is not rounded OR overly arched and your
neck is alignment like if your were to stand up
perfectly straight and look forward.
Question: What is progressive overload?
Answer: Progressive overload is the process of
using heavier weights over time to facilitate an
adaptation from your body. This adaptation is
increasing your strength and muscle mass. Thus,
you are progressively (increasing over time)
overloading (heavier weight) your muscles with
a weight heavier than they are used to using.
Question: How do I pull my shoulders down
and back?
Answer: Imagine trying to touch your shoulder
blades together while keeping your shoulders as
low as possible. If you poke your traps (the
muscle that runs on top of your shoulder from
your shoulder to your neck) they should be
relaxed. If they are tense, your shoulders are not
down, they are just back.
Exercise Descriptions
Back Squat:
• Grab bar with slightly wider than shoulder width grip • Squeeze shoulder blades tightly together and rest bar
on traps, not on your neck
• Unrack bar and take two steps back into wider than shoulder width stance
• Break at the hips by pushing your butt out then squat down until your thighs are parallel with the ground • Drive your heels into the ground and return to start
position, being sure to keep your abs tight while maintaining a neutral spine
Pushup:
• Get on your hands and feet (or knees if needed) with your hands just outside of shoulder width
• Flex every muscle in your legs and squeeze your glutes to make yourself as rigid as possible • Lower yourself until your chest touches the ground • Push yourself back to the starting position
1 Leg Hip Thrust:
• Sit on the ground with your back against the side of a bench (the bench should be across your shoulder blades)
• Put one foot 8-12 inches from your butt and lift the other off the ground
• Drive your heel into the ground and lift your hips until your torso and thigh form a straight line parallel to the ground while maintaining a tight brace through your abdomen
• Squeeze your glutes at the top and hold for two seconds
• Control yourself back down to the starting position • To increase the difficulty you can place a dumbbell
across your hip
Inverted Row:
• Lay under a bar set in a squat rack or hang rings from a cross-member of a squat rack or pull-up bar • Reach up and grab a bar or rings (the more inclined
your body is the easier the movement will be)
•Drive your elbows back to pull yourself up to the bar or rings and squeeze your shoulder blades together • Control yourself back to the starting position
Barbell Glute Bridge:
• Lay on your back on the ground
• Place a barbell across your hips with your feet 6-8 inches from your butt
• Spread your hands out enough so that you can lock your elbows and hold the bar in the crease of your hips
• Drive your heels into the ground and lift your hips until your torso and thighs form a straight line while maintaining a tight brace through your abdomen • Squeeze your glutes at the top and control yourself to
Exercise Descriptions
Pronated DB Military Press:
• Grab a pair of dumbbells and clean them up to your shoulders (you can also use your thigh to give them some momentum)
• Flex every muscle in your legs and squeeze your glutes to make yourself as rigid as possible
• With your palms facing away from your, press the DB’s directly overhead until your elbows are locked. • Control the DB’s back down to the starting position
Walking Lunge:
• Grab a pair of dumbbells
• Take a medium step forward and simultaneously descend until your back knee touches the ground • Drive your front heel into the ground to return to the
top and simultaneously push off with your back foot • Without touching your back foot to the ground, take a
medium step forward with the opposite leg
Pronated Lat Pulldown:
• Reach up and grab the bar with your palms facing away from you
• Plant your feet firmly on the ground
• Initiate the movement by pulling your shoulders down and back
• Drive your elbows towards the ground and pull the bar to the center of your chest
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together as the bar touches your chest
• Control the bar back to its starting position
Straight or Trap Bar Deadlift:
• Reach down and grab the bar by pushing your hips backwards
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together and make sure you maintain neutral spine
• Drive your heels into the ground and stand up with the bar by driving your hips forward while staying as tight as possible through your entire body
• Squeeze your glutes at the top
• Let the bar return to the ground by breaking at the hips first and driving them backwards
• The descent of the bar shouldn’t be slow, it should be a controlled drop
Incline DB Press:
• Grab a pair of dumbbells and sit back on a bench set at an incline with the dumbbells directly over your shoulders
• Place your feet firmly on the ground directly below your knees
• Control the dumbbells down to your shoulders while squeezing your shoulder blades together
• Explosively press them back up to the starting position
Exercise Descriptions
High Step Up:
• Place a box that is higher than knee height in front of you
• Step up onto the box with your right foot and stand all the way up onto the box
• Lock your knee and squeeze your glute • Don’t let your left foot touch the box
• Slowly control your left foot back down to the ground as slowly as possible
• Repeat for the prescribed number of reps and repeat with your left side
• You can hold dumbbells for extra difficulty
Rope Face Pull:
•Grab a rope cable stack attachment with your palms facing the ground
• Pull your shoulders down and back to initiate the movement
• Pull the rope to your face (don’t hit yourself) and squeeze your shoulder blades together while keeping your elbows high
• Control the rope back to the starting position
Lateral/Slalom Jump:
• Jump side to side like you are jumping back and forth over an imaginary hurdle at your side
Forward Sled Push/Drag:
• Push or pull a sled forward for the prescribed amount of time.
• If needed, load it up with enough weight to make it difficult to push/drag for 30 seconds.
Alternating Battling Ropes:
• Get in an athletic stance and do alternating waves with the rope with your arms out in front of you
1 Arm Farmers Walk:
• Grab a dumbbell with one hand and hold it at your side
• While staying as upright as possible, walk for the prescribed amount of time or distance
• The dumbbell shouldn’t be so heavy that it’s pulling you over. It should, however, be heavy enough to challenge you to use your abs to fight against the weight to stay perfectly upright as you walk
1 Arm Kettlebell Snatch:
• Grab a kettlebell in one hand and hold it in front of your crotch
• Initiate the movement by driving your hips back and letting the KB descend between your legs (you will be somewhere between ¼ and ½ squat)
• Explosively drive your hips forward while simultane-ously shrugging and pulling the KB straight up • Catch the KB straight overhead with your elbow
locked (the KB will have swung over your hand so it is now facing backwards)
• Let the KB flip back over your hand on the way down and repeat
• Be sure to keep your abs braced tight throughout the entire movement
Exercise Descriptions
1 Arm Kettlebell Swing:
• Pick up the kettlebell while keeping your arm straight and let it hang in front of you
• Initiate the movement by driving your hips backwards • Explosively drive your hips forward to swing the
kettlebell up to shoulder height with your arm extended straight out in front of you
• Control the kettlebell back down and let the momen-tum of the kettlebell coming towards you push your hips back again to repeat
• Make sure to keep a neutral spine and tight abdomi-nal brace throughout the entire movement
Back Squat:
• Grab bar with slightly wider than shoulder width grip • Squeeze shoulder blades tightly together and rest bar
on traps, not on your neck
• Unrack bar and take two steps back into wider than shoulder width stance
• Break at the hips by pushing your butt out then squat down until your thighs are parallel with the ground • Drive your heels into the ground and return to start
position, being sure to keep your abs tight while maintaining a neutral spine
Parallel Grip Chin Up:
• Grab a neutral grip (palms facing each other) pull-up bar with a shoulder width grip or narrower
• Pull your shoulders down and back and squeeze your shoulder blades together
• Drive your elbows down and pull yourself up until your shoulders are touching your hands
• Control yourself back to the starting position • Make sure to keep your shoulder blades tightly
squeezed together at the bottom
Parallel Grip Pulldown:
• Reach up and grab the handle with your palms facing each other
• Plant your feet firmly on the ground
• Initiate the movement by pulling your shoulders down and back
• Pull your elbows towards the ground and pull the handle to the center of your chest
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together as the bar touches your chest
• Slowly control the handle back to its starting position
Back Extension:
• Get on a back extension machine with the back of your ankles firmly against the pads
• If it’s adjustable, set it so the pad is just below the crease of your hips
• Squeeze your glutes and hamstrings and use them to pull your torso up so its parallel with your thighs • Control yourself back to the starting position
Standing Barbell Military
Press:
• Grab a bar with a shoulder width grip or slightly wider • Flex every muscle in your legs and squeeze your
glutes to make yourself as rigid as possible
• Press the bar straight overhead while squeezing your entire body tight, flexing your glutes, and maintaining a tight abdominal brace
Exercise Descriptions
Barbell Hip Thrust:
• Sit on the ground with your back against the side of a bench (the bench should be across your shoulder blades)
• Place a barbell across your hips with your feet 8-12 inches from your butt
• Spread your hands out enough so that you can lock your elbows and hold the bar in the crease of your hips
• Drive your heels into the ground and lift your hips until your torso and thighs form a straight line parallel to the ground while maintaining a tight brace through your abdomen
• Squeeze your glutes at the top
• Control yourself back to the starting position
1 Arm Dumbbell Row:
• Place right knee and your right hand on a bench and bend over so your torso is parallel to the ground • Grab the dumbbell with your left hand
• Row the dumbbell up towards your belly button and squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top • Control the dumbbell back to its starting position • Repeat for the prescribed number of reps, rest, and
repeat on the opposite side
Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat:
• Stand approximately two feet away from a low box, facing away from it
• Place one of your feet on top of the box behind you • Adjust the distance between your front foot and the
box until you are comfortable
• Descend until your rear knee gently touches the ground using your rear foot for balance
• Return to the starting position by driving your front heel into the ground
1 Arm Flat DB Press:
• Grab a dumbbell and sit back on a flat bench with the dumbbell directly over your shoulder
• Place your feet firmly on the ground directly below your knees
• Control the dumbbell down to your shoulder while squeezing your shoulder blades together
• Explosively press it back up to the starting position • Repeat for the prescribed number of reps then switch
arms
• Stretch your opposite arm straight out to your side and use it to help you balance/counter balance the weight of the dumbbell
Barbell Romanian Deadlift:
• Grab a bar with a shoulder width grip and your palms facing your body
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together
• With a slight bend in the knee and your weight on your heels, begin the decent by pushing your hips backwards
• Keep the barbell as close to your thighs as possible and descend until you feel a deep stretch in your hamstrings
• Be sure to squeeze your shoulder blades together and maintain a neutral spine throughout the entire movement
• Return to the starting position by driving your hips forward
Exercise Descriptions
Supinated Chin Up:
• Grab a chin up bar with shoulder width grip and your palms facing your body
• Pull your shoulders down and back and squeeze your shoulder blades together
• Pull yourself up until your shoulders are touching your hands
• Control yourself back to the starting position • Make sure to keep your shoulder blades tightly
squeezed together at the bottom
Supinated Pulldown:
• Reach up and grab the bar with your palms facing your body
• Plant your feet firmly on the ground
• Initiate the movement by pulling your shoulders down and back
• Pull your elbows towards the ground and pull the bar to the center of your chest
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together as the bar touches your chest
• Control the bar back to its starting position
Reverse Lunge:
• Take a medium step backwards and simultaneously descend until your back knee touches the ground • Drive your front heel into the ground to return to the
top and simultaneously push off with your back foot so your feet are side-by-side again
• Repeat with the opposite leg
• You can hold dumbbells in your hands to increase the difficulty
Neutral Grip Standing
DB Military Press:
• Grab a pair of dumbbells and clean them up to your shoulders (you can also use your thigh to give them some momentum)
• Flex every muscle in your legs and squeeze your glutes to make yourself as rigid as possible • With your palms facing each other, press the DB’s
directly overhead until your elbows are locked. • Control the DB’s back down to the starting position
Low Box Jump:
• Stand in front of a low box • Jump onto it and land softly
Backward Sled Drag:
• Attach some kind of handles to a sled and drag it as your backpedal for the prescribed amount of time • If needed, load it up with enough weight to make it
difficult to drag for 30 seconds.
Battling Rope Slams:
• Attach the middle of the rope to something fixed • Get in an athletic stance holding the ends of the rope
out in front of you
• Lift your hands over your head and slam the rope down on the ground as hard as you can like you are an angry gorilla pounding your fists on the ground • Repeat for the prescribed amount of time or reps
Exercise Descriptions
1 Arm Racked Kettlebell Walk:
• Grab a kettlebell and hold it in rack position. • Rack position: If you make a fist and hold it under
your chin against the center of your sternum with your elbow tucked in at your side, this is rack position and where you want to hold the KB. The ball portion will be resting on the top of your wrist.
• Walk with it for the prescribed amount of time • Stay perfectly upright as you walk and brace your abs
as tight as possible the entire time
Kettlebell Swing:
• Pick up the kettlebell while keeping your arms straight and let it hang in front of you
• Initiate the movement by driving your hips backwards while keeping the kettlebell as close to your crotch as possible.
• Explosively drive your hips forward to swing the kettlebell up to shoulder height with your arms extended out in front of you
• Control the kettlebell back down and let the momen-tum of the kettlebell coming towards you push your hips back again to repeat
• Make sure to keep a neutral spine and tight abdomi-nal brace throughout the entire movement
Warm Up Exercise Descriptions
Jumping Jack:
• Stand with a should width stance and your arms straight at your side
• Hop to widen your stance while simultaneously clapping your hands over your head (think snow angel but standing up)
• Hop again to return to the starting position and repeat for the prescribed number of reps
Prisoner Squat:
• Interlock your fingers behind your head with a slightly wider than shoulder width stance
• Squat down as low as you can while keeping your weight on your heels
• Stand back up and repeat for the prescribed number of reps
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Front Warrior Pose:
• Get into a front lunge position and go halfway down • Extend your arms overhead with palms facing
together and your biceps near your ears
• Make sure there is no collapse or overextension in your lower back
• Hold that position for the prescribed time
Forward Leg Swing:
• Swing your right leg up in front of you in a kicking motion while keeping your leg as straight at possible • As your leg approaches its highest point you should
feel a stretch in your hamstring • Try to kick higher with each repetition • Repeat with your left leg
• If you aren’t feeling a stretch in your hamstrings, try to point your toes towards your body as you kick
Warm Up Exercise Descriptions
Downward Dog Pumping Calf
Stretch:
• Get on your hand and toes with your butt up in the air so you form an a-frame and a slight bend in your knees
• Alternate driving your right and left heels to the ground until your feel a stretch through your calf • If you aren’t able to feel a stretch, walk your hands
closer to your feet
Cossack Squat:
• Get in a very wide stance with feet 3-4 feet apart • Squat down to your left side as low as you can,
bringing your hamstring to your calf
• Your right leg will remain straight as you squat down on your left leg
• Rotate your torso slightly so that it faces your
Core Circuit Exercise Descriptions
Plank:
• Balance on your elbows and toes with your elbows directly under your shoulders
• Brace your core and squeeze your glutes
• Squeeze your abs tight like you are trying to touch your chest to your bellybutton
• Don’t let your hips sag, your torso should remain in a straight line with your legs
• Remain as rigid as possible for the prescribed amount of time
Prone Mountain:
• Get into a pushup position on your hands and feet • Squeeze your abs tight and bring your right knee up
to your right elbow
• Simultaneously return your right leg to the starting position and repeat with your left leg
• It should look like you are running in place
Side Plank:
• Lay on your right side on the ground and push yourself up so your balancing on the side of your right foot and your right hand
• Your right hand should be directly under your shoulder. Your left foot should be stacked on top of your right foot with your legs together
• Brace your core and stay as rigid as possible
• Don’t let your hips sag, your torso should remain in a straight line with your legs
• Remain as rigid as possible for the prescribed amount of time
• Repeat on the opposite side
Iso Hold Glute Bridge:
• Lay on the ground on your back with your feet approximately 6-8 inches from your butt
• Drive your heels into the ground and lift your hips towards the ceiling until your torso and thighs form a straight line
• Squeeze your glutes at the top and hold the position for the prescribed amount of time
