Many people have been asking me about my workouts and how I do them and I thought of posting my workouts here. I've been organizing this since then to be easily readable and everybody can follow up with what I have been doing!
Due to the nature of the life that I pursue, sometimes I have to stop working out for a while and then back on track again. When I'm back again to working out, I usually follow a beginner workout so I don't get my body shocked and run into the overtraining. I keep doing that for about 4 weeks. Then, I switch to the intermediate level for as long as I feel my body doesn't respond to the workout at this level, i.e. plateau. For Plateau Busting, Now I escalate the level towards the advanced level!
So, let's start talking about the 3 levels one by one:
Beginner Workout
As I said before, to not get my body shocked and be overtrained I start with a beginner routine such as the Full-Body routine, and I prefer to start with it. The way how I do it is to start with the big muscles then move to the smaller muscles and in circuits. So, I call it the Full-Body Circuit Training Workout.
The whole workout at this level will last for 2 - 6 weeks
Workout Duration: 30 min
Workout Days: Every other day
Circuits: 2-3 circuits
Rest between circuits: 1 – 2 min
Full-Body Circuit Training Workout | ||
Muscle | Exercise | Reps |
| Legs | Barbell Full Squat | 15 |
| Calves | Standing Barbell Calf Raises | 15 |
| Back | Bend Over Barbell Row | 15 |
| Shoulders | Dumbbell Shoulder Press | 15 |
| Chest | Push-Ups | 15 |
| Biceps | Dumbbell Biceps Curls | 15 |
| Triceps | Standing Overhead Barbell Triceps Extension | 15 |
| Abs | Sit-Ups | 15 |
*Important Note: If your fitness goal is to Lose Fat then this type of workout is of a good choice for you to help you lose fat!!
Intermediate Workout
When I'm done of performing the beginner routine, which usually takes me only 2 weeks in my case, I change the workouts to that advanced level. At this level, I always perform the so-called "Split Body Parts Workout". I've already mentioned the "Big muscle first then the Smaller" rule in the beginner routine. What I'm going to do here is following the same rule but with making a little modification to it plus it will be "Split Body Parts Workout" instead of the "Full-Body Circuit Training Workout". So, the new rule is that every time I perform an intermediate workout usually I try to start with the big muscles then move to one of the small helper muscles and that's for a number of reasons:
- Some big muscles depend on small muscles to get a complete exercise movement or as it is called a full range of motion, e.g. I exercise my chest muscle first then when I'm done I exercise the triceps muscle. Since the triceps is one of the helper muscles for the chest. Hence,
- The smaller muscle gets warmed up and ready to be exercised after the big one. Also,
- By doing it this way, the big muscle has already been able to get its full potential contractions and range of motion.
The whole workout at this level will last for 12 – 14 weeks
Workout Duration: 60 min
Workout Days: 4 days a week
Rest between sets: 1 – 2 min
Reps per set: 8 – 12 reps
Split Body Parts Workout | |
Day | Muscle Group |
| Monday | Chest and Triceps |
| Tuesday | Shoulders and Traps |
| Wednesday | Free |
| Thursday | Back and Biceps |
| Friday | Free |
| Saturday | Legs and Calves |
| Sunday | Free |
When I'm looking for more intense and more lasting workout I try to work out a non-helper small muscle as a second muscle group in my workout. Have a look at this:
Split Body Parts Workout | |
Day | Muscle Group |
| Monday | Chest and Biceps |
| Tuesday | Shoulders and Calves |
| Wednesday | Free |
| Thursday | Back and Triceps |
| Friday | Free |
| Saturday | Legs and Traps |
| Sunday | Free |
Advanced Workout
Everyone after certain time of working out for long time will hit the plateau state at which no progress is noticed anymore. In this case, it's time to move to the advanced level in which techniques used for plateau busting can be found. In the advanced level, Intensity and volume are raised up , that is weight, sets, and reps. Also, Super-Sets, Giant-Sets, Drop-Sets are utilized if further intense workout is needed! In my case, to increase the Intensity & Volume of the workout I don't follow the rule of the "Big muscle first then the Smaller" and because I don't have a spotter I tend to use the Drop-Sets technique combined with the Super-Sets technique. Have a look at this sample:
Group | Muscle | Exercise | Drop-Sets# 1 | Drop-Sets# 2 | Drop-Sets# 3 |
| Group 1 | Biceps | Dumbbell Curls | 8 4 4 | 8 4 4 | 8 4 4 |
| Triceps | Overhead Extension Machine | 8 4 4 | 8 4 4 | 8 4 4 |
The whole workout at this level will last for as you like
Workout Duration: 1 - 2 hours
Workout Days: 4 - 6 days a week
Rest between sets: 1 – 3 min*
Reps per set: 4 – 12 reps*
*The more intense is the workout the more rest you will need
Cardio Training
Briefly, for those whose goal is to lose fat then my rule is to use Cardio Training as an extra tool to help you burn fat and not as an alternative of Weight Training. So, Weight Training is still the essential type of training whether to gain muscle or lose fat. Although Cardio Training can be advantageous to those whose goal is gaining muscle. Huh!! How come?? Yes, when you perform some kind of Cardio Training on a regular basis your endurance will increase. Now, one reason why your endurance would increase is that the Mitochondria, where Glycogen the main body energy is stored, will be larger and more dense. Hence, a larger amount of Glycogen would be stored upon replenishment. Imagine how a lasting intense workout you would be performing if you got more fuel!! You can choose any kind of Cardio activity you like. Usually, I prefer to perform the HIIT Cardio Training type on the elliptical machine!
Body Parts Exercises
To make things even more clear about my workouts, I thought of writing down the exercises of every muscle workout that I do when I go to the gym:
Chest | ||
Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Barbell Bench Press | 3 | 12 10 10 |
| Barbell Incline Bench Press | 3 | 10 8 8 |
| Barbell Decline Bench Press | 3 | 10 8 8 |
| Bodyweight Dips | 3 | 8 6 5 |
| Pec Deck Fly | 3 | 12 10 10 |
Biceps | ||
Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Dumbbell Curls | 3 | 12 12 12 |
| Incline Dumbbell Curls | 3 | 12 12 12 |
| Preacher Curls | 3 | 12 12 12 |
| Hammer Curls | 3 | 12 12 12 |
Shoulders | ||
Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Military Press | 3 | 12 10 10 |
| Machine Press | 3 | 12 10 10 |
| Side Lateral Raise | 3 | 12 10 10 |
| Rear Delt Raise | 3 | 12 10 10 |
| Barbell Upright Row | 3 | 12 10 10 |
Traps | ||
Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Barbell Shrugs | 4 | 12 10 10 10 |
| Barbell Shrugs Behind the Back | 4 | 12 10 8 8 |
| Cable Shrugs | 4 | 12 10 10 10 |
Back | ||
Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Lying T-Bar Row | 3 | 12 10 10 |
| Close Grip Pull Down | 2 | 12 10 10 |
| Front Lat Pull Down | 4 | 12 10 10 10 |
| Rear Lat Pull Down | 4 | 12 10 10 10 |
| Seated Cable Row | 4 | 12 10 10 10 |
| Hyperextension | 1 | 12 |
| Stiff-Legged Deadlift | 3 | 12 10 10 |
Triceps | ||
Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Triceps Extension Machine | 3 | 12 10 10 |
| Overhead Extension Machine | 3 | 12 10 10 |
| V-Bar Push Down | 3 | 12 10 10 |
| Reverse Grip Push Down | 3 | 12 10 10 |
Legs | ||
Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Leg Press | 4 | 12 10 10 10 |
| Leg Extensions | 5 | 12 10 10 10 10 |
| Leg Curls | 5 | 12 10 10 10 10 |
| Thigh Abductor | 3 | 15 15 15 |
| Thigh Adductor | 3 | 15 15 15 |
Calves | ||
Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Standing Calf Raise | 3 | 12 10 10 |
| Donkey Calf Raise | 3 | 10 8 8 |
| Seated Calf Raise | 3 | 10 8 8 |
*Those highlighted exercises are not performed when working out at home and that's due to the lack of the required machines for them!
In a Nutshell
As I said before I'm not an expert in the area but I'm a huge fan of it. So, all that I wanted is just to share with you What I do and How I do it.
Enjoy and have your comment!
