WARMUP (10 minutes)
Main Exercises (3 warmup prior to hitting working sets)
Warmup Sets include:
Exercises
WARMUP (10 minutes)
Warmup Lift (10 minutes)
Main Exercises (warmup prior to hitting working sets)
A man’s got to constantly improve himself. You need to make sure you’ve got a plan to be better 5 years from now than you are right now. After all, 5 years is coming, whether you like it or not. You can either be living a better or worse life, the choice is yours. I’ve heard Dan Sullivan quote Charlie “Tremendous” Jones many times as saying “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” I think there’s a little more to it than that, but that’s a pretty good summary.
If you agree that you need to be a better person 5 years from now than you are today, the next logical question you need to ask is “what does “better” mean?” Self-improvement is synonymous ultimately with setting and achieving goals. You can’t hit a target without aiming, so you need to be very particular about how you go about improving yourself. You need to define what better means, and write down what that looks like. You should have 5-year goals that you’re constantly evaluating and refining, and setting up your life to accomplish those goals. To be clear, these goals must be measurable and written down.
Your 5-year goals are ultimately determined by your shorter-term goals. Those are in turn defined by what habits you are creating today. It’s said that it takes 21 days to create a habit. That means you need to focus today on achieving goals that will turn into habits in three weeks or so. Those habits will then cumulate to help you achieve goals that will eventually determine where you end up 5 years from now.
Therefore, goal setting is the process of s turning short-term habit changes into long-termsults. Your goals should be (a) weekly (1-3 weeks time frame); (b) monthly (1-3 months time frame); (c) annually (1-3 year time frame; and (d) 5 year. Each of those time frames will determine the goals of the time frame immediately preceding it. In other words, you’ll start with what your life looks like 5 years from now and work backwards towards what you can be doing today to make that happen.
So start with what you want your life to look like 5 years from now? Then ask what do you need to accomplish in the next 3-5 years to get there? You’ll need to then consider what you need to accomplish in the next 1-3 months to put you on track for those goals. In turn, you need short term goals related to specific habits you’re working on right now, meaning today, to get you where you need to be. With each successive timeframe, you’re thinking about your 5 year plan.
Goals should be written by hand, rather than thought in the mind, or types on a phone note. That’s because there’s something magical about goal writing from pen to paper. I’ve heard this described by Dan Sullivan as some sort of neuro-link from the thumb to the brain. I’m not sure about that, but I have experienced the power of goal-setting in writing, and don’t want you to miss out on the benefits.
Goals need to be specific, measurable, and with a due date. Instead of “Lose weight”, you should set a specific number, like losing 5 pounds. Goals should be set in the present tense. That means that instead of “I am going to lose 5 pounds”, you write “I will lose 5 pounds”. Subtle difference, but important. You also need to set an end date to your goal, which will lead into what time category you choose to set it into. For instance, “I will lose 5 pounds by November 30th”. That’s a well written goal.
You should write down your goals once a week, and at the same time review the goals from the week before. This process will ensure that (a) you’re staying on course and (b) you’re still on the course you want to be on. Goals should not change drastically from week to week. Again, start with your 5-year goals, and work backwards to what you’re going to do this week to make that happen.
Don’t focus on too many goals. I’d suggest twelve total goals, consisting of three in each of the four timeframes: (a) 5 years; (b) annual; (c) monthly; and (d) weekly. That’s plenty of focus in your life. Realize that your weekly goals are likely to change every three weeks or so, as things become a habit. Your monthly goals will likely be updated every 3 months or so. Your annual goals will be updated each year, but maybe some of them take up to three years to complete, so they stay on there until then.
There are three areas of growth you need to address in your goal-setting plan (a) faith; (b) family; and (c) focus. You’re not going to have one of each category in each of your four timeframes. Furthermore, some of your goals are going to include more than one category. For instance, if you say “I want my family to attend church for the next 4 Sundays in a row”, you’ve obviously covered two in one. Some goals may even cover all three. Sometimes your short-term habits will key in on one specific category, ignoring the other temporarily. Just keep all three in mind, otherwise you’re likely to stumble in the long run.
Let’s examine these categories in more detail:
Faith
My sincere belief is that you’re going to have a much more difficult time operating in this world without faith as your guiding light. Your interaction with the world won’t be as sharp, and as a result, your results will be less than satisfactory. We have an intense focus right now on “mental health” which I think could be significantly remedied by a little more review of and adherence to Biblical principles. I think this is true whether (a) you’re a true believer in Jesus Christ like me or (b) you view the Bible as a collection of ancient wisdom that’s spelled out the way the world works in the most useful framework. Either way, you ignore what the Bible says at your own risk.
The Bible’s advice is so consistently adhered to by successful individuals and families that it’s very hard to knock it’s success rate. Sometimes we don’t see this because Christian’s “success” doesn’t translate to Wall Street Journal caliber wealth. Our problem as a society is that we view success strictly in financial terms. The Bible is not a one stop solution to material wealth, although it’s impossible to argue with the success Christians have had to adhere to financial principals. However, if you view success in a generational sense, meaning “have you had an impact that made your family and community better for your presence?”, it’s spot on advice.
I have a hard time giving advice on other topics (family, fitness, and financial) without reference to faith, hence my recommendation that you always consider spiritual growth goals in your 5-year plan. My first recommendation to anyone having trouble in their life starts with starting to attend church this upcoming Sunday, and then continuing to do so. Don’t worry at first whether you believe everything the Bible says or not. Just realize that there’s a lot of benefits you’ll get from Sunday service that can’t be found in a shrink’s office, self-help book, or pill.
Paul says something really interesting in Galatians 6:7-9 when he writes:
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
What’s really appropriate for this writing is the line “a man reaps what he sows”. This farming reference is so strong you can apply that to every aspect of your 5-year growth plan. With regards to your spiritual life, the question is what steps are you taking now to make yourself a stronger Christian five years from now?
Maybe it’s as simple as committing to attending (or maybe even finding) a church in your area within the next month. Maybe it’s committing to reading the Bible for 30 minutes each day this week. For me, right now it’s committing to becoming an official partner of our local church after 4 plus years of attendance. I’m working on cutting out a few things in my life that distract from my growth as a Christian as well. I’ve got a vision of what 5 years looks like, and it’s more involvement in the Church and making more decisions based on the Bible as opposed to worldly thought processes.
What Paul says here about pleasing the flesh causing destruction is so true. Think of it in terms of what your life will look like in 5 years. If you continue to attend to matters of the flesh, i.e. casual sex, pornography, drugs and drinking, and other frivolous pursuits of pleasure, you’ll end up in much the same place you are now, except 5 years older and more burned out. If you focus on matters of the Spirit (meaning follow Jesus’ advice), you’ll pursue heavenly matters like long term marriage and family, meaningful work, involvement in your church and community. I can guarantee your life will be much better 5 years from now in the other 3 topics (personal, financial, and physical) because of your focus on the spiritual. That’s why this one is listed first. It’s that important.
Family
We don’t take the family seriously enough as a society. Our impulse is to pretend that all sorts of possible family arrangements are equivalent to a married man and wife raising their children. It’s just not so. You need to take your current or future family seriously, right now. It has consequences not only on you, but on your children (born or yet to be born) and successive generations to come. That’s a huge responsibility to your family, regardless of whether or not you have one right now. It’s also a huge responsibility as a citizen, as men going around having kids out of wedlock has had disastrous consequences. It’s not fair to kids who grow up without parents and it’s irresponsible as a citizen.
Take it seriously. What do you want your family to look like 5 years from now? Not one man is going to say “I’d like to leave a bunch of single mothers and fatherless children in my wake.” But so many men end up doing exactly that, because they don’t have any family goals. They have foolish short term lust goals.
If you’re single, what kind of a woman would you like to attract? Since we’re talking 5 years from now, this is likely a wife. Working back to right now, what do you need to change in your life to attract that kind of spouse? Do you need to get in shape? Show more ambition and earn more money? Quit hanging out in bars on Friday and Saturday night and go join your local Church? Do you need to kill stupid habits, like video games and pornography? Work backwards from the spouse you’d like to attract to figure out what you need to be doing now.
If you are married, what would you like your relationship to look like in five years? You as the husband are the leader of your family, whether you like it or not. Your wife will respond to you as you become more masculine, despite what society says. I don’t mean that you should grow a beard, drink more craft beer, and maintain a he-shed outback. I mean that you need to become stronger, in faith, physical strength, career, and focus (which we’ll discuss in a minute). Weakness is unacceptable for men. Your wife won’t respect it, nor should she.
Envision what the perfect family would look like, and take steps to create that. How much more independent and read for life on their own will your children be 5 years from now? What does your family’s involvement in the church look like 5 years from now? What are you and your wife’s fitness goals 5 years from now? Imagine this in your head, and work backwards to make it happen now. Lead your family, or society will.
Focus
Focus means what you choose to take action on, and what you choose to ignore. The top topics most people will choose are fitness, career, and financial goals. However, there’s plenty of other goals for different seasons in your life, like education, career, networking, travel, charity, etc. This is where you choose what you’re going to do with your life. The topics will change frequently, but they all revolve around what you choose to spend your time on, in other words, your focus. To be blunt, this is really a catch-all category for goals not related to faith and family.
For the vast majority of unsuccessful men, their focus is on the wrong things. Porn, video games, cars, junk food, racking up debt, lack of saving, drinking, etc. Men must learn to switch their focus to goals that will actually improve their life. Change little poor habits into good ones with clearly defined written goals, and you’ll be amazed at the change in your life.
I tend to find that poor habits that lead to sin are often the result of a lack of direction. The whole point of goal setting is to give yourself direction. The focus category really accentuates the faith and family categories, because it helps you identify areas that are keeping you from the best possible faith and family lives (now or in the future).
Your focus determines the direction your life is going to go. You can’t hit anything you’re not aiming for, and the purpose of clear, written goals is to set a direct path for your life that will lead to success. Make sure you update your goals (especially short-term goals) frequently in order to consistently have a battle to fight in your day to day life. This will keep you from devolving into laziness and apathy, sins that often are simply a function of lack of vision, effort, and integrity.
Your focus goals should always help you accomplish, and never conflict with, your faith and family goals. Many men focus on specific material things, more money, women, cars, etc., but they end up unhappy because they have not put faith and family first. Don’t make that mistake.
Summary
Goal setting is one of the most powerful devices I can give you to improve your life. Traditionally, goal setting is focused on money and career success, and that’s great for your focus category. But there’s more to goal setting if you want to truly be successful in life. I’ve intentionally included faith and family as separate categories because they’re two that are (a) often overlooked but (b) are so crucial to achieving true success and happiness. There’s so many men who have achieved their focus goals, but are unhappy and unsatisfied because they’ve had little or no growth in their faith and family lives. Make sure you adequately address all three. Make sure you write down your goals, on paper, with a pen, and watch your life change for the better.
To help you out, here’s a worksheet you can use as a tool for your goals: GOAL WORKSHEET.pptx
The 5 minute challenge attempts to solve a complex problem I’ve always had with CrossFit (or similar workout programs). On one hand, there’s no doubt that CrossFit works. On the other hand, I (and many others) get injured doing CrossFit. I’ve started three times, and ended up on the disabled list after three months with shoulder and elbow injuries. The elbow injury still nags me years later. It’s just never been a long-term solution for working out for me.
However, there’s no doubt CrossFit works for a LOT of people. The main benefit is the inclusion of heavy weights combined with high intensity interval training (HIIT) in CrossFit Workouts of the Day (WOD). Many other programs use the High Intensity Interval Training, but they cut out the heavy weights. The results, judging by the participants of these programs, are lackluster after initial exciting weight loss results. There’s no doubt that the low weight HIIT programs can help overweight people lose weight, but there’s not the muscle development associated with CrossFit.
How do you combine HIIT with heavy weights while avoiding injury? My suspicion is that the reason for the injuries many experience in CrossFit has to do with the durations of the WOD, rather than the actual lifts themselves (although I’m not a fan of skipping pull-ups). The WODs last too long, which leads to poor form, as well as breakdowns in a molecular sense (I’ll let the science guys argue over that).
My solution, that’s worked for me, is to limit HIIT training to 5 minutes with a five minute challenge. This would always be at the end of my workout, and I tend to refer to them as “gassers’”. This is mainly a cardio/fat burning exercise, designed to help me burn fat long after the workout has ended.
Here, I pick on exercise, and perform for 5 minutes. With most exercises, I’m looking to perform a certain number of repetitions, and move up in weight when I hit that number of reps. In that sense, it’s progressive, you build up to a higher weight over time. But really, you’re not increasing strength so much as capacity to train at a higher weight.
Kettlebells are tailor made for the 5 minute challenge. A great one is the one arm kettlebell swing. Perform 10 swings with one hand and then switch hands and perform another 10. If you hit 100 repetitions within the 5 minute limit, move up in weight next time. Simple. This works great with kettlebell snatches, cleans, and goblet squats as well.
With the above kettlebell exercise, I like to do my five minute challenge with a time that rings every 30 seconds. I perform my 10 reps with one hand, rest for the remainder of the 30 second period, and then start with the other hand on the next ring. This ends up being very much like the tabata, which is a 20 second on, 10 seconds off, protocol I first learned from Dan John’s books. Tabatas work wonders for useful cardio capacity and fat burning. By the way, you should read every book by Dan John. I have them all on my kindle, and frequently refer to them, because they’re not so much specific workouts (although there’s plenty of those in there) as general weightlifting and workout theory.
You can also perform this with Turkish Get Ups (TGUs), but you’re going to limit yourself to 10 total. You’ll still get smoked cardio-wise, but it’s definitely a different sensation. Just be really careful on your 5th rep with each hand, as TGUs can have disastrous consequences if the kettlebell falls on you. Note that Pavel Tsatsouline has a great workout book called “Simple Sinister” that’s definitely worth looking into that essentially is a 5 minute challenge of one-arm swings combined with a 5 minute challenge of turkish get ups. Highly recommended, as is everything Pavel writes.
You can also do a five minute challenge with running. This is best on a track or an assault runner, which is great if you have access to one. We got an assault runner at my office gym, and I can’t get enough of it. A rower or bike can work as well. Just go as hard as you can for five minutes. Make sure you log your distance, and try to beat it the next time. You could also do bodyweight stuff like air squats, burpees, etc. using a weighted vest to add load.
Another thing that the 5 minute challenge does is it gives you more time to focus on lifting heavy weights during your workout. A lot of workouts I’ve done in the past consist of a warmup, one lift like a squat, bench press, etc., and then straight into a 20-30 minute WOD. My problem with that approach is that while you leave the gym feeling drained, over time you haven’t built up much progressive strength in your main lifts (bench, squat, deads, etc.) because you’re only doing them every couple of weeks. I like doing 2-3 main exercises and then hitting an extremely hard gaser in the last 5 minutes.
The 5 minute challenge solves for the HIIT “WOD” style workout without causing breakdowns in form and fascia that lead to injury. If you’re a 20 something phenom, by all means go out there and kill it. As we get older, those 20-30 minute WODs become counterproductive, eveninjury-causingg. However, let’s admit that prolonged HIIT with weights works wonders, so let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Implement some 5 minute challenges into your workouts at the very end, and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.
WARMUP (10 minutes)
Warmup Lift
Main Exercises
Gaser
45/25 Only. You may only use 45 and 25 pound plates on the bar. Use nothing if you can only do the bar. Warm up with some light sets, and work up to a max of up to 10. Then two two more sets, after 2 minutes of rest. You’re likely going to be able to do less reps than the first set.
Increase to the next plate level when 10 reps are reached on your first set. For instance, if you can do 8 reps max first set on the bench at 135, stay there until you can hit 10 reps. Then up to 185. The next interval would be 225. Remember, you can only use 45s and 25s. Don’t use 2 25lb weights in a row to cheat. This works best on big complex exercises like bench, standing press, squats, and deadlifts. With deadlifts, only do your one max set, don’t do any followup work. There’s something cosmic about the deadlift, you can’t handle too much.
The 45/25 Only is a great workout concept I learned after reading a Pavel Tsatsouline article. The idea is to eschew small incremental progress in favor of massive jumps to really stimulate the body. It’s about learning to “own” a certain weight prior to moving up to the next level. I’ve adapted his method, which is a little different than mine, into something that has really worked for me, and hopefully works for you as well.
This concept works best on big complex (many muscles) exercises. It’s going to be difficult to meet this standard with smaller lifts, i.e. biceps curls, and you might tear something. This is all about screaming at your muscles to reach another plane of effort, in order to stimulate growth. Some great lifts for this include:
In this concept, you may only use 45 and25-pound plates on the bar. Nothing else. Use nothing if you can only do the bar, although since we’re doing complex exercises, if you can only do the bar, Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength might be a better place to start. Warm up with a few light sets, and work up to a max of up to 10 reps (or as many as you can do at that weight). Then rest two minutes and complete another set of however many you can do. You’re likely going to be able to do less reps than the first set. Then rest 2 minutes, and complete a final set. With deadlifts, only do your one max set, don’t do any follow-up work. There’s something cosmic about the deadlift, you can’t handle too much.
Increase to the next plate level when 10 reps are reached on your first set. For instance, if you can do 8 reps max first set on the bench at 135, stay there until you can hit 10 reps. Then up to 185. The next interval would be 225. Remember, you can only use 45s and 25s. Don’t use 2 25lb weights in a row to cheat. Remember that you’ve got two follow-up sets, with only 2 minutes rest. With such a short rest interval, you’re really going to need a spotter on your lower rep exercises. Make sure you get at least one rep in your two follow-up sets, even if it’s assisted.
Perform each exercise you choose to do here once a week, with two exercises per workout. Stick with this concept for 8-12 weeks. Try to pick exercises that don’t really clash, like bench with deadlifts, pullups with squats, etc. What you’re doing here is increasing volume significantly for each exercise over time. If you workout 3 times a week, you can choose 6 exercises, 4 times up to 8. I like to follow these two up with a 5-minute “gasser” like a 5-minute max distance row, run, kettlebell swing, etc.
Some exercises will be high reps and some will be low reps. If you can do 8 reps at 185, your follow-up sets might be 6 and then 4, for a total of 18 reps. That’s a decent higher rep volume that should stimulate some muscle growth. It’ll probably take you a couple of weeks to get up to 10, where you can move on to 225. At that point, you’ll probably only be able to get 3, and then maybe 2 or even 1 on the follow-up sets (make sure you’ve got a spotter). You may be at 8-10 reps in the first exercise in a workout, and then struggle to get to 3 in the next. It’s a great way to really ramp up your intensity.
The 45/25 only is a great way of drumming up some serious intensity for an 8-12 week period, and I’ve found it really helps me develop some power in lifts. Definitely, worth a shot, it should lead you to some good muscle and strength gains.
If there’s one exercise that’s more consistently overlooked than all others, it’s the value of the hour-long evening walk. That’s probably because it’s so simple, it doesn’t even really feel like working out. But the reality is that walking burns calories, and can help significantly with your fat loss plan over time. There’s a ton of benefits, which I want to walk you through.
The average person burns between 300-400 calories per hour walking. Walk 5 days a week for a year, and you have the potential to drop over 20 pounds of fat, assuming your caloric intake remains the same. That’s powerful stuff. For overweight Americans, with over 30% body fat,
A very effective fitness solution would be nothing more than restricting calories and walking an hour a day. At that level of body fat, muscle growth would be secondary to fat loss anyway.
Another great thing about walking is that it’s so low impact that it won’t affect muscle growth and retention from other workouts you’re doing. That’s why it’s such a preferred method for professional bodybuilders looking to cut fat to get in contest shape. I remember seeing a picture of bodybuilder Shawn Ray several years ago walking on a treadmill during contest preparation. As I recall, he would spend a couple of hours a night on the thing to trim those last few pounds of body fat. You would think that those athletes do nothing but HIIT Training, but that’s not necessarily true.
Walking is also an excellent way to work out soreness from lifting and other sports activities. I get really sore from hour-longu sparring sessions on Saturdays. By Sunday, I’m usually really crushed. I enjoy walking around Sunday early morning or late evening, because I feel like it works out soreness from my body, and makes it easier to go back to lifting and training come Monday.
For married couples, it’s an excellent way to connect with your spouse, and talk about each other’s days, family plans, or just general chatting. I really enjoy the time I spend with Katie a few times a week when we go walking, either in our neighborhood or several trails around the Austin area. When she can’t join me, I usually put on headphones and listen to a book on tape, which gives me extra reading time I wouldn’t get otherwise. When I’m in the mood to zone out, I’ll often put on a podcast, which helps the time fly by and take my mind off the general stress of life.
I hope I’ve convinced you about all the benefits of walking. I’m sure you (like me) have overlooked its power for most of your life, and I hope you commit to getting out there. It’ll keep you off Netflix, enhance your health and well-being significantly, and help you achieve your fat loss goals.
(use just the bar and finish all exercises without putting down bar)
5 Minute Distance Run (Max Distance in 5 Minutes)
45/25 Only. You may only use 45 and 25 pound plates on the bar. Use nothing if you can only do the bar. Warm up with some light sets, and work up to a max of up to 10. Then two two more sets, after 2 minutes of rest. You’re likely going to be able to do less reps than the first set.
Increase to the next plate level when 10 reps are reached on your first set. For instance, if you can do 8 reps max first set on the bench at 135, stay there until you can hit 10 reps. Then up to 185. The next interval would be 225. Remember, you can only use 45s and 25s. Don’t use 2 25lb weights in a row to cheat. This works best on big complex exercises like bench, standing press, squats, and deadlifts. With deadlifts, only do your one max set, don’t do any followup work. There’s something cosmic about the deadlift, you can’t handle too much.
45/25 Only. You may only use 45 and 25 pound plates on the bar. Use nothing if you can only do the bar. Max to 10. Increase to the next plate level when 10 reps are reached. For instance, if you can do 8 reps max on bench at 135, stay there until you can hit 10. Then up to 185. The next interval would be 225. Remember, you can only use 45s and 25s. Don’t use 2 25lb weights in a row to cheat. NOTE: With Pistol Squats, you can start by holding the 25 lb weight out straight in front if you can’t do a pistol squat. This will act as a counterbalance. If you still can’t do a pistol squat, put as small a plate as needed (hopefully only 2.5lb, 5lb or 10lb) under your heel.
Warmup
Goblet Squat Complex
5 Goblet Squats
3-5 Presses Each Arm
Deadlifts
1 set of 5, several warmup sets working up to one heavy max set of 5
Overhead Press
Work up to 3 Sets of 5
Gasser x 4
6-8 Front Squats
400 M row