If you're wondering, "how can I take my fitness goal to the next level this year?" Well, here are a few examples of how to set up realistic and achievable goals that will better your sports performance, physique,and overall strength.
Short Term Goals for Beginner Trainees
With a Consistent and Productive Training Regimen, Plus Proper Coaching, Anyone Should Be Able To Obtain These Goals In 6-12 Months
Remember, Always Be Overloading Your Muscle With Heavier Resistance When You Can. If You Can Perform A Movement For 5-10 Rep For 2-3 Sets or 2-3 Workouts Consistently, Increase Load. Progressive Loading Is What Gives Your Muscle The Stimulants It Needs For Growth And Adaptation.
Male:
Jump Knee Height (+ Lateral)
10 Regular Push Ups
5 Unassisted Chin Up or 3 Pull Up (pic below is assisted)
Dips 5x
Tire Flips 10x
Reach 18% Body Fat
Finish a 5k w/o Rest.
Female:
Jump Knee Height (Plus Lateral)
3 Regular Push Ups
1 Unassisted Chin Up or Dip
1 Tire Flip
Reach 25% Body Fat
Finish a 5k w/o Rest
Long Term Goals (1-2 Years) for Beginners or Short Term Goals For Experienced Trainees:
Male:
Bench Press Body Weight or Push Ups 50x/Set
Squat 1.5x Body Weight
Deadlift 2x Body Weight
Jump Waist Height
Reach 12% Body Fat
Learn Proper Olympic Lifts (Clean, Jerk, Snatch)
Finish a Half Marathon w/o Rest.
Female:
Bench Press .75x Body Weight or Push Ups 20x/Set.
Squat 1.5 Body Weight
Deadlift 2x Body Weight
Jump Waist Height
Master Olympic Lifts
Finish a Half Marathon w/o Rest
Reach 18% Body Fat
"But nothing remains constant. As soon as a milestone is passed, it’s significance fades, and the focus is shifted to some other marker further down the road. No matter what you do or how satisfying it is in that beautiful moment in time, immedietely you want more. You have to, if you want to find out how good you can be. You HAVE to look at goals as the most significant, beautiful, wonderful things in the world to obtain, then when they are attained, curtail the joy in short order, and again look forward and begin to build the desire in your heart for another destination on the horizon.
Sometimes it seems crazy to always look to what your fingers cannot quite touch, to not let yourself be satisfied, never rest, never allow complete happiness with what is. Seems like a crazy way to live.
On the other hand, I believe I would go insane without it. If my quest, my dreams, even my own white whale to chase was replaced with a mindless 9 to 5, white picket fence, sit-coms in the evening and nothing more to bitch about than taxes and the neighbors they probably would have to strap me down and start the medication.
In the words of the great Waylon Jennings, I’ve always been crazy, but it’s kept me from going insane" - Glenn Pendlay
Advanced Goals:
These Movements Are More Performance Oriented and Requires More Than Just Brute Strength. Speciality Movements Like The Ones Suggested Below May Involve More Coordination, Unilateral and Core Strength. Muscular Endurance, Mental Toughness, and Overall Athleticism.
Male:
Single Leg (Pistol) Squat 5x (For Both Legs).
Box Jump (Chest Height) or Single Leg Jump (Waist Height).
Single Arm Push Up 5x.
Single Arm Chin Up 5x.
Single Digit Body Fat %.
Hand Stands (1min or 20sec unassisted).
Dip W/ 0.5x Body Weight.
Muscle Up
Dragon Flag
Farmer’s Walk + Body Weight Resistance Carried (40 Yards).
For those who wonders why I recommend coffee (or caffeine) for weight loss, sports performance, and general health.
Coffee not only upregulate fat metabolism, but improve diabetes-insulin sensitivity, exercise-induce fatigueness, and tons of other health markers. Short term and long term studies all suggest so. enjoy the articles.
Coffee mannooligosaccharides, consumed as part of a free-living, weight-maintaining diet, increase the proportional reduction in body volume in overweight men http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20861211Consumption of a MOS-containing beverage, as part of a free-living weight-maintaining diet, leads to reductions in total body volume, relative to placebo, in men
In this cross-sectional study, caffeinated coffee was positively related to insulin sensitivity and decaffeinated coffee was favourably related to measures of beta cell function. These results provide pathophysiological insight as to how coffee could impact the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus
Habitual coffee consumption and risk of hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies1,2,3http://www.ajcn.org/content/93/6/1212.abstract?etocThe results suggest that habitual coffee consumption of >3 cups/d was not associated with an increased risk of hypertension compared with <1 cup/d; however, a slightly elevated risk appeared to be associated with light-to-moderate consumption of 1 to 3 cups/d.
The effects of catechin rich teas and caffeine on energy expenditure and fat oxidation: a meta-analysis http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21366839?dopt=Abstractplus . Compared with placebo, daily fat-oxidation was only significantly increased after catechin-caffeine mixtures ingestion.
Associations between the intake of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and measures of insulin sensitivity and beta cell function.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21046357In this cross-sectional study, caffeinated coffee was positively related to insulin sensitivity and decaffeinated coffee was favourably related to measures of beta cell function. These results provide pathophysiological insight as to how coffee could impact the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus
Why Coffee May Help Protect against Diabeteshttp://www.diabetesincontrol.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10397&catid=1&Itemid=17They found that women who drank four cups of caffeinated coffee each day had significantly higher levels of SHBG than did non-drinkers and were 56 percent less likely to develop diabetes than were non-drinkers. And those who also carried the protective copy of the SHBG gene appeared to benefit the most from coffee consumption.
Coffee, Diabetes and Weight Control – Research Reviewhttp://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/coffee-diabetes-and-weight-control-research-review.html"In the short-term, caffeine can impact positively on a number of factors (such as delaying fatigue during exercise, increasing lipolysis, and increasing fat oxidation and caloric expenditure) but negatively on others (decreased glucose tolerance/increased insulin response, slight increase in blood pressure). However, longer term studies suggest that habitual caffeine/coffee intake is, overall, beneficial: it decreases the risk of diabetes and may contribute to preventing weight gain Tangentially, of course, any benefit of coffee/caffeine itself is going to be more than outweighed if you fill it up with sugar, cream and other high calorie goodies. My take on the topic: used in reasonable amounts, caffeine pretty much does nothing but help fat loss. The impact on insulin sensitivity is overstated (in my opinion) only applying to acute studies with massive doses. The known impact of caffeine on lipolysis and improving exercise performance is so well-established as to be beyond debate.
most studies have subjects ingesting 600mg/day (3 200mg/dose)."
If you get headaches from 0-calorie sweeteners, moderate your table sugar intake then.
5. For fat loss, caffeine work best when you're low-carbing and in the fasted state while doing very light but prolonged activities such as hiking, working, or cleaning. For you cardio addicts, keep your heart rate under 140bpm caffineated and 130bpm in general. Get a heart rate watch.
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The 5 x 5 is a simple but not easy progression to follow and is great for putting on lean mass and brute strength. It can get you more powerful, too if you do any O-lifts.
Application
5x5 is for those who need a new workout routine to keep things interesting. For those who stopped making gains from the SS or 3x8 progression. For those who need to simplified their exercise selection, progression, and programming and already know how to properly perform all major lifts. Those those with at least 6 months of consistent weight training experience.
5x5 is NOT for those who don't know what the h*ll they're doing at the gym. Not for those who likes to just wing it everytime they workout. Not for those who enjoy 20 or higher reps for every exercise movements they do (for the pump!). Not for people that likes to play with bosu balls, wobble boards, and pink dildos because they want to be more functional. Not for those who prefer flopping from stations to stations for muscle confusion but never lift anything heavy or wants to be stronger. If you don't know what a RDL or a 1 rep max stands for, get this book first and do what it says.
Determine Your 5RM
5 x 5 means five sets of five reps for all your max fives.
So for example, if your squat is currently at 200lb right now for 10 reps and you don't know what your 5rep max and 1rep max are. Go to the site, enter 200lb for 10reps, it will spit back your 1rm.
which is 248 (or 250 for simplicity).
Then go to the chart link below. Find 250 on the very left column for all 1RMs.
Across that row shows what your estimated4RM & 6RM are 175 & 200lb. So 5RM would probably be around 190lb. Let's just go with that.
Progression
Basically, now you walk up to the squat rack and perform 5 reps of 190lb across all 5 sets.
190 x 5, rest
190 x 5, rest
190 x 5, rest
190 x 5, rest
190 x 5, eat.
5 sets of 5 rep is 25 total reps. That the total work volume you're aiming for.
Once you can squat (or bench, rows, pull, chins, press, dead) to 25 total reps at 190lbs, you increase the weight by 5% (9.5lbs).
So next time what you'll do (or attempt to do) is add 9.5lb (or 10lbs to keep it simple) to the bar, which brings you to 200lb and perform that 5x5.
Surely your rep will drop to something like
200 x 5, rest
200 x 5, rest
200 x 3, rest
200 x 1, rest
200 x 1, fall over.
but you get the idea. So your goal for the next few workouts is to up those reps to 5 across all 5 sets. Once you can reach 5 x 5 again, add more weights!
5x5 can be hellish and it's not something you can do 3x a week for 2 years straight but it's something you should experiment with couple times a year with all your major lifts. Especially when your routine starts to get dull or you're not making any gains following other progressions.
Exercises Selection and Schedule
Examples of 5x5 for a week's workout:
If you lift 5x/week
Monday: Bench Press
Tuesday: Pull up or Cleans
Wednesday: Deadlift
Thursday: Rest
Friday Miliary Press
Saturday: Squat
Sunday: Zumba... just kidding.
or if you train 3x/week
Monday: Press 5x5 & Dips 3x8 (push day)
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: Row 5x5 & Pull Up 3x8 (pull day)
Thursday: rest
Saturday: Deadlift OR Squat 5x5 & leg press (leg day) plus calf raises or couple hill sprints or whatever. you can alternate the dead and squat weekly.
Sunday: rest
Tips
1. Get 2 warm up sets before attempting the 5x5. Warm up with the bar first then another at 50% of your 5RM. Keep both under 5reps.
2. Do not put deadlift & squat on the same day. Don't ever do this even if you're not following the 5x5 progression.
3. This model works best with compound movements.
4. Rest at least 1min between sets but no more than 3min.
5. If you're on your 3rd set and you think you can push up to 7 or 8reps, DON'T! Follow the program! It's 5x5, save your effort for the next 2 sets. If you're that confident, let it show through your total 25reps across the 5sets. If you hit that, great, add more weight next time.
6. On your 4th or 5th set with weights above your head (like press or overhead squat), get a spotter.
7. I wouldn't recommend doing 5x5 for two major lifts in the same workout, either unless you can only train 2x/week or less (with plenty recovery time).
Ex: Dips 5x5 follow by military press 5x5... not a good idea. Or front squat 5x5 plus cleans... that's just asking for injuries. If you want to do 5x5 on chins then 5x5 with curls (a small isolation movement) that's ok too, but why curls when you can do heavier chins?
Keep it simple, 1 major lift per workout, 5x5, give it all you got, then rest and repeat.
The only variable you're messin' with here is your rep volume (25reps total). That's it.
I often hear people bash the idea of dieting, lifting heavy weights, or supplementations and it's super annoying...
It's always along the line of "I hate the word diet, I like to call it sensible/mindful eating", What that really means is I don't want to track my food intake or make too many dietary changes.
or "I don't want to get bulky, i'm gonna stick to the treadmill and yoga to get long lean muscles" which really means I don't want to lift heavy weights to give my muscle and joints the reason to get stronger, I rather lay down on this mat here and breathe hard and that's all I need.
or the "I want to do it the natural way, that's why I don't take whey or creatine"... which really means I'm too lazy to read nor care enough to maximize my workout recovery or correct deficiency from my bad diet.
The reason why these lines are being repeated over and over again is not because these people are actually concerned with the danger of supplementation, weightlifting, or making dietary changes. Well, maybe for some, due to lack or guidance or resources, but for most people out there, they're just flippin' lazy!
Too lazy to look up why including chin up in their program instead of curling pink dumbbells might give them more guns. Too lazy to make a conscious effort to track their intake consistenly instead, they just want to do weight watchers. Too lazy to join a gym or take advantage of the free resources online to improve their understanding of health, nutrition, and body composition.
What they want to hear from their doctors, trainers, dietitians and friends are the simple, shortcut stuff
Take this pill and your blood pressure will go down.
Drink this shake and your metabolism will be like when you were in your 20's!
circuit training is the best and only way to train and you can do it at my bootcamp!
use this cookie cutter menu that other bros did and get ripped in 3 weeks!
People wants the easier version of everything. They don't want to read about it or understand it. They rather just do it and hope for the best rather than being skeptical of what they're getting into and actually follow through with legit programs. They usually end up spinning their wheels and hand over their paycheck for years.
Lazy people don't want to hear the fact that most people who has achieved their fitness goals actually had to...
1. Read a book, attend a seminar, or ask around to find out what works best for them and be skeptical of the information they are exposed to. Ask questions and ask some more.
2. Sit down and plan ahead. This includes setting short term long term goals and steps it takes to get to each of them that leads to the final goal.
3. Work hard at it and follow through - true grit and actually do something different that's out of their daily routine.
4. Assess and Adapt: willing to change their plan if it's not working for them or discover something else that works better for them. Be willing to experiment and leave their ego at the door.
Julien Smith: Whatever you want is usually easier to get than you think, as long as you are willing to adapt and do what is necessary.
So, rather putting in the time and effort to do what it takes and have been done for decades, lazy people rather give their money away to something they heard on the radio (HCG diet), told by the salesman (GNC), presribed by their doctor (Liptor), or listen to their dumb and still fat girlfriends from zumba class to do this new diet they heard on the Dr.Oz's show.
Just do this and you'll get lean without sweating, eating less, or understand how the body works! hooray!
I hate shortcuts and false-promises. This post is about why we must do what it takes to get what we want out of life. Today I will focus mainly on the diet side of things. To understand why and how to train hard, read this and this.
Why We Diet
Being on a diet simply means changing your dietary intake for a specific goal you have in mind. Weight loss? muscle gain? recovery? allergies? photoshoots? performance?
The word "diet" has been overly used in the media for the past 2 decades and has become somewhat of a dirty word (same for calorie-counting). A lot of fad diets out there will run headlines like "say no to dieting by doing these 3 easy steps for a healthier you!" or "never count calories again using these 10 grocery shopping tips!" or "eat like jennifer aniston and never have to train hard again!"
The truth is, if you stop drinking regular soda and switched to diet soda or water, you've just made a dietary change to take in less calorie. Therefore, you dieted and that's ok.
If you start supplementing caffeine during workouts which in term boosts performance, eating more fish or fish oil capsules to get a good omega 3:6 balance, fast longer to increase thermogenesis, or switching from regular milk to lactaid milk due to inability to process lactose, you've made a change in your diet to improve your current condition.
All of these modifications basically put you in a diet mode long enough to reach your goal (or become part of your lifestyle for food tolerances or weight maintenance reasons).
I agree that dieting shouldn't be a forever thing but it is something you must do to reach your goal RIGHT EFFIN' NOW. The idea of dieting, training hard, and supplemenations doesn't have to be a horrible, miserable, or dirty thing.
Caloric Deficits In Disguised
Don't be fooled by these commercial diets you see on tv or in the magazines. What they do is trick you into cutting calories without you knowing it. You still end up showing up to the gym and put in the time to do the program and get hungry from time to time. Whatever whacky ideas, supplements, fitness products, magazines tips, and commercials they are trying to sell you, you still have to do things differently because let's face it, what you're doing now is obviously not working.
The problem is, are those things really worth the money? did you really think you needed that fancy heart rate monitor to make sure you're in the fat burning zone when you haven't even tried eat less? Do you really need that post workout shake within the 30min window when you could have gone home and cook a meal? did you need to pay someone $120/hr to show you how to run on the treadmell or balance yourself on a bosu ball?
The problem with these cookie-cutter programs that promise quick fix and easy to do steps is that they are only external motivators that only works in the shortrun. Same for hiring someone or installing a treadmill in your living room.
The drive to improve your current condition through hard work isn't really coming from you. You had to use visual cues, constant texts from your workout buddies, pictures of models on your fridge, and your doctor visits to constantly put you back in your dieting mode. Not that they aren't good motivators but, they usually aren't sustainable.
Nothing wrong with having a little accountability from your friends, coaches, or a professional but if you really want to change something about yourself, you have to want it bad enough that you can do it yourself when nobody is there to help you. others can only help you so much along the way.
The best and lasting motivations has to come from within.
You got to embrace the idea that you have to diet and train hard ( or accept change) if you ever want to look like Tyler Durden or Ryan Reynolds. Realize that it's hard work that gets successful people where they at today. Put down the Shape magazines and pick up a real training book. Do the grunt work of learning more about nutrition, reading food labels, supplements, so you have some basic knowledge of the human body which will enable you to master it.
Stop looking for shortcuts! Anything that promises weight loss of 20lb/month is not all fat (Master Cleanse, anyone?). Anything that promises mass gain of 20lb/month is not all muscle (Tim Ferris?).
If you don't know where to start, look it up. Allot spare time to learn what you need to do to reach your goal. Allot resources you need to hire a professional that can help you. Allot your energy to practice the things that needs to be practiced to get good at it. You have to have a real desire for greatness, be self-motivatedm, commited, and not afraid of pain. You have to start from step 1 to get to step 2 and all the way to the end goal.
How Do We Commit?
To make ourselves fully committed to a certain goal, first of all we have to see the goal as something that we really want for ourselves and ourselves only. This alone will require some self-meditation.
Second, is the goal something obtainable? Can you see yourself lifting that much weight? or sporting a six-pack in 6 month? or making the basketball team next season? If you have doubts, talk to others who's been there and done that. People who are at the top of their game usually love to share their journey and achievements. If you don't have any role models, watch videos or read articles about others' experiences. Then you evaluate whether your goal is fitting for you.
Third, How do you get there? Educate yourself on the realistic steps needed to get from point A to point B. Try working backwards if that helps. If you want to master the clean and jerk, you have to be strong enough to hold the bar above your head first before considering jerking it off your shoulder or pulling it off the floor. So you do plenty push press or overhead squat to get your shoulder strong enough. Same for the catch, if you can't front squat and hang clean properly, you can't expect to be good at a power clean.
Cut Out Crap
If you want to get stronger, save your energy for strength trianing, optimize your recovery by eating more protein and stop running for no good reason. If you need to eat out less and cook more often, manage your time by cutting out tv/facebook time to do so. If you need to save money to hire a trainer, maybe you don't need that big ass tv for christmas or the ridiculous $120/month phone plan you're on.
Here are more examples of 'do what it takes' that should be common sense to people yet they rather stay in their current situation and bi*ch about it all day long... excuses like not having enough time, inferior genetics, embarrass to workout at the gym, or claiming they're plain o' ignorant about everything.
If you want a 250lb bench press, you lift heavier every time consistently until your muscle adapt to that poundage.
If your husband beats you, leave him or stop complaining about it!
If you want your dream job, you study, pass tests, write papers, do internship, and cultivate your interview/people skills.
If you want a better vertical jump, you do more vertical jumps.
If you want a girlfriend, you have to leave the house first and meet people!
If you're a struggling single parent with kids to feed, shop at the dollar store, stop buying sh*t, pick up extra hours, and consider getting more education and stop making babies.
It's that simple!
Simple Does Not Mean Easy
If you have done the things I mentioned above, why can't you do the same for weight loss? Why can't you train more or push yourself harder? Why didn't you get that job or read that book you know it's good for you? Why do you keep making excuses?
Dieting for weight loss is not that different. You track your food intake and make sure it's less than your body needs. Eat things that are more satiating (fiber, water, protein, bigger meals) to prevent hunger. Then you repeat it long enough to see results. It's simple but simplicity does not always means it's easy. Dont fall for shortcuts!
If you are afraid of the idea of dieting, afraid to train hard, afraid to count calories, afraid to lose your leisure time, afraid to put your ego aside and seek help and ask questions, you need to get your priorities straight or else you don't deserve greatness.
"Regardless of genetics, gender or age, each of us has tremendous power to improve physique, fitness and health; but very few people fully exploit this power because so few people train in a way that is truly appropriate to them. Circiumstance of life make some decision more likely than others, each person is responsible for his or her own exercise program's results. You decide which exercises you use, how you perform them, and how often you train. You decide when you quit a set, when you go to sleep, how well you eat. You alone are responsible for your porgress in the gym, accept responsiblity for having created the current state of your physique and fitness. Then assume the responbility for changing what you do no like." - Stuart McRobert
Now Get To Work!
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Lyle Mcdonand wrote a great article comparing the kcal expenditure of EPOC from steady state (cardio) against interval training. Steady State vs. Intervals and EPOC: Practical Application. He explained why EPOC from HIIT type of activities aren't always more effective for fat loss when compared to performing cardio.
Click the link for references and calculations on how the various EPOC values were derived. I will only quote the important stuff...
"So, for an equivalent duration workout, the interval workout comes out a whopping 14 calories ahead due to the impact of EPOC. That will net me an extra pound of fat loss every 250 days (3500 calories / 14 calories per day = 250 days). Hooray.
Clearly, for any equivalent length workout the interval training will always come out slightly ahead.
Except that you wouldn’t expect someone to do longer and longer and longer interval workouts; the whole point of intervals (or one point) is that they are more time efficient, that you get all you need in somewhere between 4 and 20-30 minutes (depending on which expert you’re listening to and what they’re selling).
here’s a question for my pro-interval crowd to ponder:
Let’s say I want or need to train daily for fat loss (most athletes train every day, as do most dieters). Which am I more likely to do on a day-in day-out basis? Which is more likely to lean me out faster? Which am I more likely to BE ABLE to do daily (from a RECOVERY standpoint)?
1.30 minutes of intervals: burning 342 calories including EPOC. 2.60 minutes of moderate teady state cardio: burning 642 calories including EPOC.
this articles is absolutely NOT meant to be against interval training as one tool in the fat loss arsenal. My issue is simply with the uncritical claim being made that intervals are always superior to steady state "
Obviously, if you're coming from a complete sedentary lifestyle, any types of training regimen is going to help you expend calories and improve insulin sensitivity (HIIT or Cardio).
Also, if you don't have the luxury to do1hr/day cardio, 5-6 days a week, interval training might be your best bet. Other than these 2 cases (and strictly talking about fat loss here), I still believe steady state is the better choice for long term adherance to a fitness program and overall reduction in injury occurances.
Jason Ferruggia wrote an awesome article on how bodybuilders (natural or juiced) achieve great physiques with a handful of basic compound barbell exercises while only use walking as a form of cardio to keep body fat percentage low.
JC from JCDfitness also wrote a good post on why most people are always looking for shortcuts but realistically, it's a matter of reaching caloric deficit (from dieting) long enough to lose body fat combine with some heavy lifting to look ripped.
There are actually no exercises that can make you lose fat, period. You can do all the movements known to man, stuff yourself silly and still never drop an ounce of body fat. If these movements (bench/dead/squat) were responsible for fat loss, every powerlifter on the planet would be ripped. Then again, I have to pinch myself and remember that most people are looking for a quick fix, not necessarily a realistic approach.
The Truth
The only way to lose fat is by means of a caloric deficit. You create a deficit by monitoring your intake and eating less than you burn. Sure, extra exercise can help create that deficit if you are sedentary most of the day. People who sit at a desk for work can benefit from some extra movement to increase their expenditure. This will allow them to eat a little more food and drop fat faster than without any exercise at all.
.
I should also mention that squats, presses, deadlifts and any other form of resistance will allow you to retain lean body mass which is so crucial to dieting successfully. So why do people keep writing about The Top 10 Exercises That Will Eliminate Your Love Handles? It seems they forget to mention you actually have to eat less. No way!"
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Here are some easy bodyweight exercises that can be done at home, at the park, at the hotel, or at your office. If you can find a table, chair, monkey bars, or heavy objects and some room to move around, you're good to go.
This post is intented for beginners who doesn't have any weight lifting experience or for those who can't train at a fitness facility for whatever reason but need something to do during the holidays (on vacation or at work?). For serious trainees, join a gym or set up your own proper training space (power rack and barbells) at home would be ideal.
You will get stronger and leaner with these exercises (with diet dialed in, too of course) but don't expect to reach your genetic potential for muscle and might without some heavy weight training. Pick up the book "Starting Strength" and get addicted to the iron.
Basic Bodyweight Training
All movements can be broken up into 5-20 repetitions to do at a time (per set). Then rest 2 minutes between sets. Then perform another 5-20 reps until you hit the total targeted # of reps for the day.
Monday: Push up - 80x/day
If too difficult to perform, try this modified push up version first and work up to 20x per set. After a few workouts, attempt the regular PU starting with a low rep range (naturally) and work up to 100x total in multiple sets (ideally 4-5sets). Always be progressing (overloading) with these exercises!
Tuesday: Dips - 80x/day
If too difficult, try this first
Wed: Walk (Active Rest) - 30mins
Don't start jogging until you are less than 20lbs overweight. My recommendation is to never jog anyways. Instead, RUN and run fast. Use BMI to predict how much weigh you should ideally be at for your height. If you're overweight, you shouldn't be doing any type of steady state cardio work other than walking. Focus on your diet! Chronic impact from long distance pounding (esp. for overweight folks) can be very detrimental on the joints. Most seasoned endurance athletes will testify they've got plenty (and repetitive) injuries and chronically experiencing over-reaching symptoms.
If you've always been active or had some weight lifting experience (and is currently overweight), BMI may not be a good predictor of ideal weight, nor cardiovascular health. Read this to find out how to set a realistic goal for your current fitness level.
I generally just recommend walking even if you're extremely fit or plays sports. Walking is the best type of active recovery you can do (next to stretching and massages). Read this to find out why.
Thur: Chin up - 60x/day
With chin ups, your palm faces you and grip width should be around your shoulder wide. Remember, it's call a chin up because the chin actually goes up aboves the bar. Not nose up or forehead up. Also, at the bottom position, your elbow should be fully extended to count as a rep. Without full extension of the arms, chin up becomes a biceps dominant movement.
The picture above is actually a pull up that targets more of your triceps than biceps. Your performance on a pull up will normally be lower than chin up.
Keep in mind that if you start kipping, you are cheating. You are trying to target your arms and back with this movement, not the hip or core. Beginners may need to kip a little to get it up, but once your back (lats) is strong enough to initate the movement, kipping should be eliminated. There is a time and place to train like a gymnast and that's at a crossfit facility.
Don't be like this guy...
If the above 2 movements are too difficult, use a chair like in this video.
or progress this way...
Fri: Overhead Press - Do this 50x/day
If too difficult, pick a lighter object or a log to press with (start with around 20lb). If you can easily do 10x/set, increase the weight of the object. Your shoulder should be sore by the time you have done 30 total repititions. If not, you are lifting to light.
At the top of the movement, your arms should be fully extended, elbow behind your head, chest up, and your upper body should tilt slightly forward.
Saturday: Sprinting - 10x. Make each rep 4-6 secs
After a good 10min warm up with some light jogging, jumping jacks, rope jump, or burpees, do some dynamic stretching that focuses on leg swings laterally and front/back. Then start off with a couple 10yard sprints, a couple 20yards sprints, then another couple 40yards.
Once you can comfortably sprint 40yards without losing much momentum at the last 10yard, you're ready for full sprints. Make each full sprint under 6 seconds. If you play sports that involves further than 40yards (soccer, football, etc), feel free to sprint a longer distance. Make sure you get plenty rest between all-out sprints (2mins rest minimum). When it comes to explosive movements like sprinting (or any plyometric/jumping/throwing movements), you should focus on quality, not quantity. This means rest plenty until you're ready for another heavy and explosive repetition. While resting, don't let your heart rate and body tempturature drop too low, keep moving (walking).
The faster your arms swing, the quicker your legs cycle between strides (this increase stride frequency). Also, the stronger your legs are (with proper weight training like squating, cleans, plyometric/explosive exercises) the distance of your strides will increase which allows you to accelerate quicker and run faster.
Sprint mechanics typically comes naturally for most people. If for some reason you find sprinting a difficult movement to do or not have the space for it. Try going up hills or stairs a few times.
For sunday, just rest. Always pick at least one day out of the week to completely rest. No light cardio, cycling, zumba, or yoga. JUST REST. This way your future workouts will be more productive and less likely to injure yourself.
If you do a simple search on google for "bodyweight exercises", you'll find tons of movements to add to the exercises mentioned above to keep your workout interesting and chellenging. Just remember that if you're not constantly overloading your body with heavier loads each time, you're not giving your muscles the stimulants it need to get stronger. This means, the above movements are not meant to replace a proper and progressive training program that focus on lifting heavy weights. They are only something simple to do in the short term when other more chellenging movements are unavaliable/unaccessible.
When we train, we train with the intention to get stronger, meaner, and mightier. Do not train with a mindset to simply "stay in shape", once you're past 25 years of age, you cannot afford to train to "stay in shape".
"Regardless of genetics, gender or age, each of us has tremendous power to improve physique, fitness and health; but very few people fully exploit this power because so few people train in a way that is truly appropriate to them. Circiumstance of life make some decision more likely than others, each person is responsible for his or her own exercise program's results. You decide which exercises you use, how you perform them, and how often you train. You decide when you quit a set, when you go to sleep, how well you eat. You alone are responsible for your porgress in the gym, accept responsiblity for having created the current state of your physique and fitness. Then assume the responbility for changing what you do no like." - Stuart McRobert
At the age of 58 & pre-diabetic, Kenna managed to lose 30lbs this year. Now her sugar averages at 80, has more energy, and got a healthier glow of skin and hair. She continues to chellenge herself daily.
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