Module 32: My "fallback" workout
Tonight I want to introduce an important concept AND give you one of my favorite workouts.
Ok, so here's the concept. If you can train 4-5x a week, that is practically ideal for building a lean & muscular physique. (4 resistance training sessions + 1 cardio session for a total of 5 training sessions.)
And there are times during the year when I exactly that. But guess what? That's a pretty demanding schedule. And sometimes life gets in the way. Especially in the winter. I live in Michigan and when it starts to snow it throws everything out of whack.
Schools get cancelled, a 30-minute commute suddenly stretches to two hours and suddenly just going to work and stopping at the grocery store seems to eat up your entire day.
During those periods, I don't even try to train 4-5 times a week. It's just not possible. Instead, I use my "fall back workout."
This is a very simple, very quick workout that only requires 2 training sessions per week. This workout is great for getting strong. Pair this with a good diet and you can get lean AND strong. This is NOT the best workout for getting as big as possible but if you can use this workout to get lean and then switch to another plan (with more volume) to get strong.
So without further ado, here's my 2x per week "fallback" workout plan:
Day 1:
Primary Movements
Deadlifts: 5 sets of 2 reps, ascending weight. (So for example I would sometimes to 225lbs x 2, then 275lbs x 2, then 315lbs x 2, then 365lbs x 2, then finally 405lbs x reps. Try to add 5lbs to the top set each week.)
Bench Press: 3 sets of 10, ascending weight. Followed by 4th set, as many reps as possible. So for example, you might do 135lbs x 10, 185lbs x 10, 225lbs x10 then 275lbs x 5 (going for as many as possible.)
Secondary Movements
For the secondary exercise, use this rep scheme:
Set 1: 10 reps with 50% of your 10 rep max. (So if you can lift 100lbs for 10 reps, you'd want to use 50lbs for your first set and do 10 reps.)
Set 2: 5 reps with 75% of your 10 reps max. (So if you can lift 100lbs for 10 reps, you'd want to use 75lbs for your second set and do just 5 reps.)
Set 3: 10 reps with 100% of your 10 rep max. (So if you can lift 100lbs for 10 reps, on this set you want to do exactly that -- 10 reps with 100lbs.)
Here are the secondary movements:
Lat Pulldowns (or pull-ups)
Military Press
Barbell Curl
Any tricep exercise.
Day 2: (Done at least 2 days after day 1 workout.)
Squats: 5 sets of 10 reps, ascending weight.
Bench Press: Same as day 1.
Secondary movements: (Same rep scheme as secondary movements on day 1.)
Leg Curl
Calf Raise
Ab Work (your choice on exercises, sets & reps)
Don't be fooled by the simplicity of this program. Yes, it's only 2 days per week. Yes, you can probably bang out the entire workout in 30 minutes if you hustle. But if you pair this simple plan with a strict diet, you'll be amazed at what kind of fitness level you can achieve.
What's really strange is that people will naturally assume you must exercise for hours and hours each day. They won't believe you if you say you only train 2x per week for 30 minutes.
Matt Marshall, certified personal trainer and founder of Fitness Under Oath
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