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A Generic Full Body Workout Routine

April 9th, 2008 Posted in Conditioning, Weight Training, Workout Routines

Man doing pushups
There are about 956,586 workout routines that you can try. One of the most effective types of routines I have found in my first 14 years of training is total body training.

The Principles of Total Body Training

  • Work every muscle group 3 times per week.
  • Select one exercise per muscle group, per day.
  • Hit each muscle group from a different angle or intensity in each workout.
  • Never go to absolute failure on any exercise; leave one rep in the bank.
  • Keep workouts under one hour, not counting warm ups and stretching.
  • Change everything up after two months.

Why Might This Be the Most Effective Form of Training?

  • High frequency (how often you train any given muscle) means more chances to recover and grow stronger/bigger.
  • Low daily stimulus (# of exercises and sets per day for any given muscle) lowers your chances of overtraining.
  • Avoiding training to failure also lowers chances of overtraining.
  • Hitting muscles from all angles each week strengthens stabilizers and is proactive injury prevention.
  • Avoid muscle adaptation by changing up the whole routine after 2 months.

So What is the Routine Already?

I will outline a basic routine to follow in a 7 day period, but it can also be shortened to a 6 day period just as long as you see no signs of overtraining.

Your warm-up strategy: Please spend 5-10 minutes warming up your body with some cardio and some light weight lifting. This is your opportunity to do some shoulder rotations and non-hyperextending back extensions to warm up those areas that are prone to injury. For any given compound exercise, you decide if you want to include an initial warm-up set. I recommend it, but for a sissy exercise like bicep curls for example, you don’t really need to do a warm-up set.

Your weight/rep strategy: The first set should be a warm-up if necessary. Middle sets should increase by 10-20% depending on how you feel. Fourth set should be 100% of the max for the given rep range. For example if I can bench 100 lbs x 5 reps, I would do sets of 50 x 5, 80 x 5, 90 x 5, and 100 x 5. Once I set a new 5 rep personal record (PR) I would add the smallest amount of weight possible the next time I did that exercise. Most gyms have 2.5 lb plates, so next week I would use 105 lbs as my finishing weight on that exercise. This is called linear progression. Again, if the rep range is 5, you should be finishing with a weight you can get for 5, but not a weight that causes you to struggle to get 4.

Your exercise selection strategy: Given three workouts a week for each muscle, you must choose three exercises for each muscle group. You should choose one compound exercise and two assistance exercises. The assistance exercises should focus on bringing up weak points, fixing muscle imbalances, or breaking through a sticking point. This strategy was inspired by a training philosophy called the conjugate method.

Your exercise execution strategy: The first exercise of the workout should be done solo, as it is the most important exercise of the day. Rest for a minute or two between sets. All subsequent exercises should be done in groups of two. This is sometimes called a superset. Rest for a minute or two after each superset.

This program as it is outlined below is for men.

Females should do twice as many reps with lighter weight.

Day 1:
a) Quads - Barbell back squats
reps: 5/5/5/5/5
b1) Chest - Incline dumbbell press
reps: 7/7/7/7
b2) Calves - Standing calf press
reps: 7/7/7/7
c1) Hamstrings - Stiff leg deadlifts
reps: 7/7/7
c2) Abs - (Weighted) decline sit ups
reps: 7/7/7
d1) Back - (Weighted) wide grip pull-ups
reps: 10/10/10
d2) Shoulders - Seated dumbbell shoulder press
reps: 10/10/10
e1) Stretch all your muscles for 10 minutes while sipping your post-workout drink.
e2) If you are still within your 60 minute workout and have gas left in the tank, do a tricep extension of your choice for 2 sets of 5 reps, or as many diamond push-ups as you can do.

Day 2:
Off or light cardio.

Day 3:
a) Chest - Flat bench press
reps: 5/5/5/5/5
b1) Quads - Step ups onto a bench or box holding dumbbells
reps: 7/7/7/7
b2) Abs - Lying leg raises, get your lower back and butt off the floor, try to touch the ceiling with your toes
reps: 20/20/20/20
c1) Back/Hamstrings – Standing bent over dumbbell rows
reps: 7/7/7
c2) Calves - Seated calf raises
reps: 7/7/7
d1) Shoulders - Standing dumbbell raises to the side
reps: 10/10/10
d2) Biceps - Standing alternating dumbbell curls
reps: 10/10/10
e1) Stretch all your muscles for 10 minutes while sipping your post-workout drink.
e2) If you are still within your 60 minute workout and have gas left in the tank, do a hamstring curl machine for 2 sets of 5 reps;or lock your heels under something with the instep of your foot facing down and, starting with your thighs perpendicular to the floor, lower your upper body forward and down a couple degrees then use your hamstrings to pull it back up. I’ll have to see if I can find a picture of this somewhere.

Day 4:
Off or light cardio.

Day 5:
a) Hamstrings - Deadlifts
reps: 5/5/5/5/5
b1) Shoulders - Standing overhead shoulder press
reps: 7/7/7/7
b2) Abs - Standing side bends holding dumbbells
reps: 7/7/7/7
c1) Quads - Alternating barbell lunges
reps: 7/7/7
c2) Triceps/Chest – Decline close grip bench
reps: 7/7/7
d1) Back/Biceps – (Weighted) close grip chin-ups
reps: 10/10/10
d2) Calves – One leg standing calf raise on a 2 inch block or plate holding a dumbbell
reps: 10/10/10
e1) Stretch all your muscles for 10 minutes while sipping your post-workout drink.
e2) If you are still within your 60 minute workout and have gas left in the tank, do two sets of clapping pushups.

Day 6 and Day 7:
Off or light cardio.

So that’s it! Please take this full body workout routine with a grain of salt. At times you might need to skip the e) exercises and maybe even one of the second exercises in the d) superset. This will not kill you. Feel free to change up the exercises if you think you know what appropriate replacements would be. This is just a guide for those that have never experiences total body training before.

This workout should only be done for 2 months max before you either try a different workout, specialize for a certain muscle group, or completely overhaul the exercises and reps.

If I have helped or inspired you, please leave me a message so that I can tell that someone is actually reading this blog. Good luck!

Written by Steve
Steve is a formerly ISSA certified personal trainer and sport nutritionist, who has been studying, practicing, and experimenting since 1994. Please use the content at Project Swole to supplement the advice of your doctor or physician. All medical questions should be directed towards a qualified medical professional, and the advice provided at Project Swole should be used at your own discretion.

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  1. 62 Responses to “A Generic Full Body Workout Routine”

  2. By Matt on Jul 9, 2008

    Great article!

    Love the lifting exercise selection!

    Question–why only “light” cardio on off days? If we are trying to lose fat while building muscle, shouldn’t we do heavy cardio on our off days to maximize the fat loss? Can we negate potential muscle loss by maintaining adequate levels of protein intake?

  3. By Steve on Jul 11, 2008

    It is very difficult to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. It can be done, but you end up either building the muscle very very slowly or losing the fat very very slowly. Typically we need to focus on either building muscle OR losing fat over any time interval.

    Therefore I recommend that if you are trying to build muscle, do light cardio on off days. If you are trying to lose fat, do heavy cardio on off days, but don’t expect to build much muscle.

    You will also need to offset the additional workload with extra food, water, and rest. I also don’t recommend lifting with high intensity and doing high intensity cardio for 5 days in a row. This will quickly lead to overtraining and possibly injury.

  4. By Leon on Aug 27, 2008

    This is a great article. I am an believer in total body workouts which I believe are better than the boring 3 day muscle split routines.

  5. By Maggie on Sep 7, 2008

    This looks really interesting. I’m going to try it starting tomorrow. One question, would you recommend anything different for a 130lb 5′5″ woman? I’m not a beginner, more like intermediate. I can bench 80lbs.

  6. By Steve on Sep 8, 2008

    Maggie:
    The only thing I would recommend is to double the reps specified in the program for at least the first month. Since you are an intermediate, you could sort of start with twice as many reps and work your way down to the actual number of reps prescribed over the course of the two month. Just increase weight and drop reps by 1-3 each week.

  7. By nutrition on Sep 10, 2008

    These two are very important:

    - “Keep workouts under one hour, not counting warm ups and stretching.”

    And you see it many times people working out for about 2 hours, thinking that the more they working out the more they will gain or lose…not knowing that at the point they are in a catabolic state.

    - Change everything up after two months.

    Change is always good…it will wake you and your muscles again.

  8. By Davey J on Oct 11, 2008

    Great tips… it’s important to have a full body workout and not just specific muscles all of the time.

  9. By Personal Trainer on Oct 26, 2008

    Great Article and comments!

  10. By mass on Oct 29, 2008

    Maker sure to always change routine once in a while. To keep your muscles from becoming lazy.

  11. By pat on Nov 6, 2008

    i am only out for building i dont care about loosing fat , cause im a skinny guy , so can I do this type of workout and skip cardio?

  12. By Steve on Nov 6, 2008

    Pat:
    Yes please skip the cardio if you are not looking to lose fat. Just remember that it is always a good idea to make sure your cardiovascular system is healthy, so it might be good for you to implement some sort of interval sprints (or other HIIT), a free weight complex of some sort, or do some 20 rep squat sets each week. Best of luck.

  13. By Roger on Nov 27, 2008

    I’m currently deployed, and trying to find a good routine to lose some fat and be in better shape for when I come home. We have a small gym in the basement, but not a lot of options when it comes to machines and supplements. I think I will try a variation of this routine, since I never know when I’ll have time for the gym and might have more time off some days and no time others. Any suggestions, Steve? Thanks.

  14. By Steve on Nov 28, 2008

    Roger:
    In my opinion, you should do a full body routine as often as possible. Use machines if you have to, but also try to work in bodyweight exercises if your only other options are machines.

    Try:
    One leg squats
    Split squats
    Lunges
    Pull ups with weight
    Push ups with clap
    Tricep dips off a bench or chair

    Hopefully you can see where I’m going with this. Best of luck.

  15. By Schuyler on Dec 2, 2008

    Hello I found this guide really helpful and i just want to know about the cardio thing.

    I’m not fat or really thin im just in the middle. Maybe a little above the middle. But i just want to know should i do this program or should i do a cardio program then do this?

  16. By Steve on Dec 3, 2008

    Schuyler:
    You should do both. It is very important not to confuse the importance of endurance training versus high intensity interval training (HIIT) for fat loss. Basically you want to avoid endurance training and opt only for HIIT.

    That being said, here is what I would do:

    Follow the program outlined above, but never do the exercises outlined in the e2 sections. Then make sure you are doing your HIIT on the two off days (days 2 and 4). I would suggest joining an extreme cardio class; I choose extreme kickboxing. Your other options are interval training on cardio machines at the gym, interval bike riding, interval sprints, interval stair sprints, or high intensity circuit training. Please do yourself a favor and take the two days off on the weekend. You should do this for a month before taking an active recovery week, then repeat.

    What is an active recovery week?

    Do the regular 3 day weight training workout, but feel free to change up the exercises, or do something else fun. Scale the weights back so that you are not lifting to failure at all. Active recovery means you are letting your body heal and adapt to the 5-day-per-week high intensity training that you just did for the last month.

  17. By Patrick on Jan 25, 2009

    Steve,

    I have to be able to do 40 push ups, 40 sit ups and run 2 mil. in two weeks. I’m out of shape. Do I spend the next 2 weeks working only on running, sit ups and push ups?

  18. By Rich on Feb 7, 2009

    Steve,

    Excellent article!

    Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

    Question:

    I have been working out with a trainer for the past seven months and I have went from 23.1% body fat to 19.3%. In the past three weeks I have seen some great results by dropping almost 2%. Unfortunately, I have not given it 100% like I would like because I sometimes have cookies, shakes and junk food, but it’s time for me to stop the nonsense.

    Started at 174lb and now down to 160lb, but I still have a gut. Even though I have lost five inches off my waist I want to have six pack abs.

    Do you have any recommendations for me?

  19. By Tim on Feb 16, 2009

    Steve,
    Just a couple of clarifications needed. You talk about the,say, 5 rep max and performing lifts at certain percentages of this max. I get that, now in the generic total body workout routine, you have on Day 1 Chest: 7/7/7/7, so what is the reasoning behind that 7 rep cycle, or like in Back: 10/10/10 versus the 5 rep cycle you talked about in the article portion?

  20. By Steve on Feb 16, 2009

    Tim:
    My point about the 7/7/7/7 for chest on day 1, is that since you are doing 5, 5 rep sets for squats, I opted not to tax the nervous system with more 5 rep sets. This way you can use a bit lighter weight and focus on 7 rep sets for the rest of your routine.

    For a full body routine I usually prefer not to do the same number of reps for the same muscles all 3 days in a row. This is why you’ll see sets of 5, 7, and 10 all throughout the week.

    By all means, experiment if you like. Do 5 rep sets for everything if you want, or make the difference between rep goals even larger by doing 3 reps on day 1, 8 reps on day 2, and 15 reps on day 3.

  21. By Tony on Mar 26, 2009

    Thanks for the article Steve! I was wondering if it is possible to have sets in a different area of focus in between other sets. Does that make sense? For example, I would do one arm tricep extensions, then I would take a quick 5 second breather then do dumbbell shrugs, then I’d rest for 2 minutes. I only do 2 sets each but I do this for a few other workouts too. Is this bad?

  22. By Steve on Mar 26, 2009

    Tony:
    This is not bad. This is what I do for almost every exercise of every workout. Rarely do I start 1 exercise, rest, do it again, rest, do it again, stop. Usually it’s exercise a, minimal rest, exercise b, 90 seconds rest, exercise a, minimal rest, exercise b, 90 secs. Know what I mean?

  23. By Tony on Mar 27, 2009

    Thanks for the quick response! I just re-read the structure of the workout. Now I get it. haha. Sorry. Thanks again!

  24. By RJ on Mar 27, 2009

    thanks for the article, Steve. I have been thinking of switching to a total body routine, but have a couple questions. I’ve been lifting for many years, so I’m not a beginner. I’m currently on a pretty comfortable split, but it’s getting stale and I’m not hitting each muscle as frequently as I want to.

    my question is, how do you work other activities into your routine and still give the proper time for recovery? for instance, I play basketball on tuesdays and softball on thursdays, and try to do something on the weekends if I can. if I go to a M-W-F routine, that doesn’t leave much time for recovery. any thoughts?

  25. By Kevin on Apr 30, 2009

    I just started this workout this week. I’ve heard great things about these full body workouts. I just have a quick question, when you say change it up after two months, do you mean change it up to a different work out (I.E. going back to 2 muscle workouts per day), or change up the workouts by doing different excercies for the full body workout, then the ones that are shown in your workout?

  26. By Matt on May 15, 2009

    Hi gonna start the workout monday. My main focus is losing weight not really fat all over just big beer belly. Id like to add sauna sessions into the workout when should i do them on weight training days or off days? I know ive read that 2-3 days a week of sauna is all u need is that true and if so like i said on what days?

  27. By Steve on May 15, 2009

    RJ: Sounds like you’re getting a bit of exercise every day. I like your plan with basketball and softball on Tu/Th, especially since softball is a pretty tame sport. Try to hit your legs hardest on Friday and you can avoid any interactions with basketball. Sounds good to me.

  28. By Steve on May 15, 2009

    Kevin:
    Awesome! When you are ready to switch it up after 2 months, you can switch it up any way you want. Come back here and find a new workout like maybe 3×5 or switch every in the workout to something new. Check out my Top 5 Best Exercises posts for ideas on exercise variations for each muscle group.

  29. By Steve on May 15, 2009

    Matt:
    The sauna, eh? I believe the sauna would be best anytime other than right after a workout. Perhaps the next day would be best. Be sure to hydrate though, since all the sauna really does is make you sweat.

  30. By Josh on May 20, 2009

    I’m looking to start a full body program mainly because I have a little less time in the week to workout and also because I want to build up my muscle endurance for Martial Arts Training. I was noticing that you have on the first day, first exercise 5/5/5/5/5 – to clear it up that simply means 5 reps per set for 5 sets? How do go about completing them all? Do you go through all the exercises 1 set at a time then start over and so forth? And with all these sets is it really possible to complete in less than an hour?

  31. By Steve on May 20, 2009

    Josh:
    1) 5×5 is 5 sets of 5 reps
    2) You go about completing them by just doing it. Maybe you can’t get 5×5, but you should be able to get 5/5/5/4/3 at least. But strive for 5×5 so you can add weight the following week.
    3) One exercise at a time, unless the supersets are involved, in which case it’s 2 exercises at a time.
    4) This workout can usually be done in a hour. Limit rest between sets and don’t sit around talking to other gym goers.

  32. By Kyle on May 21, 2009

    Hi Steve
    I am going to the 10th grade next year and this summer I wanted to get stronger and quicker because I play baseball, soccer, and football. We work out with our team but we have no instruction :( . I have read some articles about increasing power (strength + speed = power) and I read it wasnt good to do this type of lifting until you were an expierenced lifter. Is this true? And what do you feel I should do? I currently max bench 170 squat 275 and can do 12 unweighted pull ups. The info I read from was from http://healthhabits.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/power-strength-training/

  33. By Kyle on May 21, 2009

    Ah sorry forgot to include I weigh 165-170 not totally sure and im 6′2″. Thanks

  34. By Rich on May 25, 2009

    Steve,

    I have been working out with a trainer for about a year and when I started I was at 180lbs and had a pretty big gut and I am now down to 159lbs. The problem is I still have the gut, even though it is much smaller. I look much better, but I am not satisfied because I want to have a six back. I know it will take a lot of time and patience, but I was wondering if you knew of some stuff that I could do.

    What do you recommend here?

  35. By Steve on May 27, 2009

    Kyle:
    I do enjoy the Health Habits blog and have read that article. It is a decent article for a beginning speed-strength routine. He builds on the ideals of dynamic effort and maximal effort training popularized by powerlifting expert Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell club. If I were you, I would try this routine twice, for a total of 12 weeks. At that point, or at some point along the way, I suggest you learn how to perform Olympic lifts with impeccable form. Of paramount importance are power cleans, hang cleans, clean and press, and power snatch. Those lifts (especially the cleans) will be of utmost importance for you to excel at football. For baseball you should focus on developing a rock solid core, specifically with rotational drills. For soccer I highly recommend you use High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) to increase your speed and leg strength through interval sprints.

  36. By Marcus on May 30, 2009

    Steve
    I like the programme you have provided here and will definitely give it a go. I am 47 yrs old and really am very conscious of my over large ‘man breasts’. I wear baggy clothes to hide or cover them. I so want to lose the excess weight I have put on over the last five years. I am currently 125kg and would like to drift back down to 88/90kg, is this ideal for me?. I am 5′10″. I hope you can help. Cheers.

  37. By Kyle on Jun 1, 2009

    Thanks for the reply Steve I really appreciate it. But I was thinking because I also wanted to do this full-body routine. Do you think I could combine the full-body routine and the Health Habits Power routine? Would it be ok to do full body strength day on Monday and then Wednesday do full body speed and so on?

  38. By Brian on Jun 2, 2009

    Steve,
    I really like the program you have outlined above. I am currently trying to get back into lifting weights after tearing some cartilage in my shoulder about a year ago. My doctor told me that it was O.K. for me to lift weights, but he did not really specify what type of lifts/reps I should do or shouldn’t do for that matter. I was wondering if you could provide any insight on whether or not I should change up your program or not. Thanks a lot for the help.

  39. By Imran on Jun 10, 2009

    Hi Steve – Best workout routine i have searched on the net, just one question – can this be done by a beginner. I was working out over 2 year ago for only 12 months, havent been working for over 11 months getting back into it and have been going to the gym 3 – 5 days a week. Do you think it would be okay for a beginner or do you have other suggestions, thanks in advance for you reply.

  40. By Steve on Jun 11, 2009

    Brian: I would definitely use higher reps on exercises that involve the shoulders, but just until you feel you are back to full strength. The shoulders can be very unstable and you want them at maximum health before you start lifting really heavy. 10 rep sets maybe for the first month, then 8 rep sets if you feel up to it, then some 5 rep sets to start to rebuild your strength. Eventually you should be able to max out with single and doubles again if you want.

  41. By Steve on Jun 11, 2009

    Kyle: give it a try and let me know how it pans out.

  42. By Steve on Jun 11, 2009

    Marcus: that sounds feasible to me. Having excess fat in your chest is very humiliating to a man. I know because I store an excessive amount of fat in my chest when my bodyfat gets too high. Since my teens I have been looking for a way to optimize fat loss in the chest area, but it just can’t be done. You are going to have to just lose fat from your entire body while also building muscle in your chest and shoulders to help ‘lift’ that whole area.

  43. By anthony on Jun 11, 2009

    Dear Steve, i was just wondering if circuit training meanining doing 1 set of everything and continue to the next set or if doing an exercise at one time(finish 5 sets of bench at a go, then continue to the next exercise) is better? what do you think?

  44. By jared on Jun 12, 2009

    hey steve.
    i’m looking at starting this routine!
    THANK you so much for posting one. i have spent the last few days looking for something like this. i plan on starting this routine on Monday(to get a proper week started and my 2 day off are weekends) but after i try it i will get back to you on how it went

    THANKS

  45. By jared on Jun 12, 2009

    also the chin ups. i have poor upper body strength.
    can i do close grip pull downs until i reach enough strength to do chin ups? just wondern

  46. By Steve on Jun 12, 2009

    You should do assisted pull ups if possible, decreasing the assistance every workout until you can do at least 1 full pull up with bodyweight. Pull downs are for sissies.

  47. By Steve on Jun 12, 2009

    Let us know how it goes Jared.

  48. By jared on Jun 12, 2009

    lol thanks. i can do pull ups. but only like 2 or 3. should i just do reps of 2 and increase as i go?

  49. By jared on Jun 12, 2009

    2 more question. sorry lol

    the calve raises. can i swap those with leg press calf raises?

    and on the decline close grip bench. does it HAVE to be close grip? or can i just do decline dumbbell bench?(i like those alot better :p

  50. By Steve on Jun 12, 2009

    anthony: Circuit training is moving from one station to the next without rest. Once you have finished 1 set of each exercise, you have completed 1 circuit. I think this can be an OK way to condition (lose fat), but not a great way to gain strength or size, and not the optimal way to lose fat. Circuit training with weights or machines ranks somewhere between endurance training and intense resistance training (anaerobic exercise like weightlifting). I think I will write an article on this.

  51. By Andy on Jun 15, 2009

    Wow – awesome article! I’ve been looking all over for some ideas for a full body routine and am definitely going to start on this.

    One question. I usually surf at least one day over the weekend. Which day would be best so as not to interfere with this routine?

  52. By anthony on Jun 16, 2009

    Steve:so you suggest completing an exercise of 4 sets before moving on?

  53. By Steve on Jun 17, 2009

    Andy:
    I think surfing would be great any day of the week regardless of when you lift. If you want to get super-technical I suppose it would be best to surf on Saturday in order to let your body recover on Sunday, so you can start your routine again on Monday.

  54. By Steve on Jun 17, 2009

    anthony:
    For this particular routine I advocate 5 sets for the big exercise of the day, 4 sets for the second biggest, and 3 sets for all the rest. No need to overtrain the smaller muscle groups.

  55. By anthony on Jun 18, 2009

    oh yeah steve, is it possible to come up with my own training programme with the best exercise for each part of the body(the 5-best exercises articles that you have posted up)?

  56. By Steve on Jun 18, 2009

    anthony:
    Yes. That’s what is great about articles like that; you can mix and match them to come up with your own unique programs. Trial and error will help you determine which exercises work best in one program.

  57. By Steve on Jun 18, 2009

    jared:
    You can pretty much swap any calf raise exercises around. Typically I would exchange a straight leg calf raise for another straight leg calf raise; ditto for the seated calf raises. Those two variations work slightly different muscles.

    Decline close grip is meant to hit the triceps really hard. Decline dumbbell bench is more for the chest. Swap them if you want, but at the sacrifice of some direct triceps work.

  58. By Steve on Jun 18, 2009

    jared:
    If you can do 2 or 3 pull ups, you should definitely do them. Clearly you can benefit from some additional sets of assisted pull ups to speed up your back strength, but I would definitely say you should get on the bar at least once a week to do any many bodyweight reps as you can get.

  59. By Steve on Jun 18, 2009

    Imran:
    Thanks for the props. This workout routine can be done by a beginner, and in fact should be done by a beginner. By subjecting a beginning weight lifter’s body to frequent full body workouts, that person should see even greater “beginner’s gains” than one would normally see. Plus, we are using mainly compound exercises for this routine, which will force the body to quickly grow a solid foundation for future training.

    I think you should definitely follow this program for at least 2 months then let me know how you feel.

  60. By Kyle on Jun 29, 2009

    Hi Steve,

    I posted some comments awhile back and wanted to let you know the program i talked about is amazing my goals are being met and passed. thanks for the advice to…ok i have a friend that does gymnastics and he is very good but he wants to get better. He needs to control his body weight much easier. What do you recommend doing to be able to do things like Barilla and Hannibal (they are his idols and if you dont them look them up on youtube) besides just endless amounts of pull ups and push ups.Thanks Kyle

  61. By Steve on Jun 30, 2009

    Kyle: Sounds like your friend needs to continue with his gymnastics training and just practice constantly. If he can’t handle the bodyweight movements he needs to either get stronger or lose body fat. Full body exercises will be best for him, with TONS of core work. I don’t think I have any better advice than his gymnastics instructors could give him.

  62. By john on Jul 1, 2009

    def a beginner in gym trying to lose weight. needed a guideline and found it, thank u. have been doing 10 min warm up on treadmill and 30 min weight loss on elliptical. should i not do as much time on three work out days? also climb ladders all day at work. dont want to kill myself but want to get in shape. thanks!

  63. By Steve on Jul 2, 2009

    john: That sounds fine to me. At some point I’d like to see you switch to High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) sessions on off days and eliminate the cardio machines completely, but you might not be ready for that quite yet.

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