Start off with the walking swings, to do this perform a normal 2 handed kettlebell swing and as the bell reaches the top of the movement, step forward. Repeat until you reach the end of the 8-10 metres, put the bell down and then perform alternating leg walking lunges back the way you came. Then finally drop down and bear crawl back to the kettlebell, to do this keep your hips low and move your opposite arm and leg. Start again with the swings and keep this routine going for the full 10 minutes. The aim is to complete as many repetitions as you can over the 10 minute round, performing swings, lunges and bear crawls once counts as 3 reps.

Tips:

: Use a kettlebell that you normally perform 3 sets of 8-10 swings with. If your starting out then I would recommend women using 6kg and men 12kg.

: Focus on perfect technique throughout the 10 minutes. If you start to struggle then take a rest before continuing or end the challenge.

: Make sure to fully warm up and cool down before and after the challenge.

Aims:

: Start out aiming for 30-40 reps and then see if you can progress to the magic 50 plus. Over 50 and it is time for a heavier kettlebell.

1. : 

In this post I have outlined the whole body circuit that we did during week 2. Rob will alternate from week to week between this workout and the other whole body session that I recently posted.

Since this is week 2 we have progressed the programme so now Rob will be spending 40 seconds on each of the aerobic exercises and only resting for 1 minute 45 between circuits.

Whole body workout:

2 Handed kettlebell high pull: 15 reps

TRX single leg lunge: 10 reps per leg

Double leg squat thrusts: 40 seconds                         

Single arm dumbbell snatch: 15 reps per arm

Single leg Swiss Ball Bridge: 10 reps per leg (Lie on your back with one foot resting on the ball and the other leg straight and held in the air. Lift your hips and raise your bottom off the ground. Return to the floor and repeat).

Medicine ball straddle jumps: 40 seconds (Stand with your feet either side of a low step. Bend your knees and rest the ball on the step before jumping up and landing softly onto the step. As you jump up reach over your head with the ball keeping your arms straight. Jump back down to the start position and repeat).

Perfect press-up: 15 reps (Press-ups using the perfect press-up rotating pads).

Powerbag reverse lunge: 6 reps per leg (Hold the bag on your chest and step backwards into a lunge alternating legs).

Lateral step jumps on and over: 40 seconds (Stand next to a low step and perform a 2 footed side jump onto the step aiming to land softly by bending your knees on impact. Jump off the step landing on the opposite side before jumping back over the step to the start position).

Abdominal circuit:

At the end of the 3^rd circuit I took Rob through a 3 exercise abdominal circuit. We completed 3 circuits with a 90 second rest in between each one.

Swiss ball jack-knife: 15 reps

Swiss ball crunch: 15 reps

Swiss ball plank: 20 seconds hold

Again for these sessions reps were kept fairly high (around 15) and aerobic exercises were performed for 30 seconds each. Rest between circuits was still 2 minutes. As always we spent 5-10 minutes warming up before each workout.

Workout 1 (chest, shoulders, triceps).

Barbell bench press: 15 reps

TRX Front raise: Hold the TRX by both handles and start with your arms fully extended and leaning back (the further you lean back the harder the exercise). Keeping your arms straight, lift your hands above your shoulders and raise your body as you do so. Maintain a straight back throughout. 15 reps

TRX Squat thrust: Start in a press up position with your feet in the TRX stirrups. Alternating legs bring your knees into your body as fast as you can whilst maintaining a flat back. 30 seconds

TRX Chest press: 15 reps

Standing dumbbell Arnold press: From a standing position hold a pair of dumbbells at shoulder height with your palms facing towards you. Press the weights above your head while rotating your hands so your palms face forward at the end of the movement. 15 reps

TRX Jump squats: 30 seconds

Medicine ball walk over: Start with both hands on a med ball and take one hand off and place it on the floor. From here perform a press up and then return both hands back to the ball and repeat on the opposite side. 10 reps

Around the head rotation: Hold a weight plate in both hands at chest height. From here lift the weight over your shoulder and around your head. Return to the start position and then repeat going the opposite way. 15 reps

Lateral jumps over Powerbags: Place 3 bags on the floor spaced evenly apart. Jump sideways over each of the bags aiming to land soft each time. 30 seconds

Close hand press ups: 15 reps

Workout 2 (Back, legs, biceps, abdominals)

Renegade rows: 10 reps per arm

Wide leg squat: Hold a powerbag across your chest and perform a squat with your feet wider than your hips and toes pointing slightly out. 15 reps

Step jumps: Perform a 2 footed jump onto the step aiming to land soft by bending your knees on impact. Step down and repeat. 30 seconds

TRX Rows: 15 reps

Lunge with bicep curl: Hold a pair of dumbbells and perform a front lunge. As you bend your knees and lower your hips curl the weights up towards your shoulders. Step back and repeat leading with the opposite leg. 12 reps (6 per leg)

TRX Jump lunge: 30 seconds

2 Handed kettlebell swings: 15 reps

Stand to kneel: Hold a weight plate at chest height and from a standing position kneel down placing one knee at a time onto the floor. Stand back up and repeat. 15 reps

Hammer strikes onto tyre: For this exercise we used a 14lb hammer and swung it over head and striking down onto a large tractor tyre. For this exercise you could replace it with overhead medicine ball slams. 30 seconds

TRX Bicep curls: 15 reps

After 3 circuits were completed we did 3 abdominal exercises. Again these were performed in circuit fashion with a 90 second rest in between each circuit.

Roll outs: 12 reps

Medicine ball v-sits: Perform a v-sit whilst holding a med ball on your chest. 12 reps

Plank with up and down movement: Start in the plank position on your elbows. Hold for a second and then push yourself up onto your hands so your arms are fully extended. Return to the start position and then repeat. 10 reps

Next week’s session we will be increasing the aerobic exercises up to 40 seconds and reducing the rest periods down to 1.45 between circuits

All you need to do this workout is a barbell and a step box. The aim is to complete 45 seconds on each of the resistance exercises completing as many repetitions as you can, use a quick tempo whilst maintaining a full range of motion and a strict technique. For the plyometric exercises spend 30 seconds on each. Once you have completed a full circuit rest for 1 minute and then repeat, aim to perform 3 circuits.

Perform a 5-10 minute warm up before starting this session.

Push press

Bench hops

Bent over rows

Burpee to step jump

Squats

Straddle jumps

Press-ups

Explosive step ups 

Tips:

: Use the same weight for each of the barbell exercises. Start light since the workout is designed more for muscular endurance rather than strength. Only increase the weight when you can do a full 45 seconds on each exercise over all 3 sets.

Below are some regressions for the plyometric exercises.

Bench hops: Use a lower step.

Burpee to step jump: Perform the burpee with your hands on the step. Rather than a step jump do a basic step up instead.

Straddle jumps: Perform step-ups from a straddle position or do a straddle jump onto the step and then step down.

Explosive step jumps: Use basic step ups instead for a lower impact variation.

: When I did this session with one of my clients it took around 40 minutes to complete including warm up. We finished the session with an abdominal superset of medicine ball wood chops and medicine ball crunch with alternating leg lifts.

Sam will be quick to admit that he often finds it hard to motivate himself and gets bored easily. Because of this I decided to get away from his usual way of training, which was to spend at least an hour in the gym training 1-2 muscle groups per session. Instead we would focus on high intensity circuit training as this would help to keep his heart rate up (so we can rediscover his six-pack) and the time spent in the gym down. We would base sessions around compound barbell exercises such as clean and presses; deadlifts and rows etc as well as kettlebell; powerbag and TRX work.

In the video we are finishing off a 4-exercise circuit that involves barbell clean and press. Single hand kettlebell swings, powerbag bent over rows and explosive press-ups. Sam completed 10 reps on each exercise and we did 4 circuits in total. At the end of this and once Sam had got his breath back we finished the session off with some abdominal work. 3 supersets of medicine ball V-ups and Russian twists followed by 3 sets of TRX rotational Jack-knifes did the trick.

1. : 

I will be posting more of Sam’s workouts over the next 8 weeks and a sample of the diet he has been following. At the end of the 8weeks we will post some photos of the results.

For the last 3 weeks we are also getting rid of the cardio machines and this time are focusing on short bursts of high intensity aerobic work using plyometrics and body-weight exercises.

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Warm up: Spend 5-10 minutes warming up with a mixture of light cardio and mobility exercises that focus on the hips, hamstrings, lower back and shoulders.

Round 1. Single arm snatch and 2 handed swings:

Start of by performing 5 snatches with your right arm, and then grab the bell with both hands and complete 5 swings. Follow this with 5 left arm snatches and then another 5 swings. Keep this going for the full 3-5 minutes aiming not to put the bell down alternating between snatches and swings. Once you can complete 5 continuous minutes without stopping and it feels comfortable then increase the weight of your kettlebell.

Round 2. Single arm lunge and 2 handed squats:

Hold the bell in your right hand in rack position. Perform 5 front lunges stepping forward with your left leg. Then hold the weight in both hands at chest height and complete 5 squats. Rack the weight on your left and perform 5 lunges stepping forward with your right leg. Keep this going alternating between lunges and squats for 3-5 minutes. Once you can complete 5 continuous minutes without stopping and it feels comfortable then increase the weight of your kettlebell.

Round 3. Single arm row and 2 handed high pulls:

Hold the bell in your right hand and step forward with your left leg. Tip forward from your hips whilst maintaining a flat back and perform 5 rows. Follow this with 5 2 handed high pulls before completing 5 left arm rows. Keep this going alternating between rows and high pulls. Once you can complete 5 continuous minutes without stopping and it feels comfortable then increase the weight of your kettlebell.

Below is a video showing a sample of each of the 3 rounds.

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Warm up: As before spend 5 minutes doing gentle cardio followed by 3-4 of the exercises used within the first 6 weeks. Again perform 2 sets of 12 reps of each of the warm up exercises. 

Superset training: For the next 3 weeks you will be doing superset training for you resistance section. Superset training involves performing 2 exercises back to back, with no rest in between, for either the same muscle or opposing muscles such as the biceps and triceps. This means you will be working all your major muscle groups with more intensity and volume while still completing your workout in around the 60-minute mark. For each superset perform 12 reps of each exercise (unless otherwise stated) and have a 45 second rest between supersets. Complete 3 sets of each.

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