An Often Neglected Bodypart
When you begin bodybuilding, what do you perceive as the most impressive body parts? That’s right: arms and chest. Those are the two body parts most of us get caught up in, because they’re the bodyparts that signal to the world that we are bodybuilders. But then all of a sudden the winter months are gone and summer arrives and you find you can’t wear shorts because all winter you concentrated on getting big arms and a big chest. Suddenly you discover that legs are probably the most neglected bodypart, or at least very close to it.

So many bodybuilders try to work around legs, concentrating on arms and chest and those bodyparts they get immediate feedback on, and covering up the remaining bodyparts so that no one will notice their weak condition.

But one day you get fired up and want to compete. Then you realize that you’ve got to play catch-up with your legs.

This is when you wake up and smell the coffee: It dawns on you that you should have been training holistically from the get-go. You should have trained not from the shoulders on down but from the feet on up — from the calves to the thighs to the hamstrings, all the way up.

Having A Background Helps
As for me, I started out as a football player in school, and I also ran track, so my foundation was my legs. Athletes from other sports have an advantage in making the transition to bodybuilding, because they have a general idea about how leg training ties in with total body strength. In high school, for example, I concentrated on squats to improve my leg strength as a running back. When that carried over into bodybuilding, I put more emphasis on training hamstrings, calves, etc., and soon legs became an exclusive training day.

Because of this athletic background, I never had to prioritize legs. What I found was that once I began using a variety of exercises in addition to squats — leg presses, lunges, hack squats, stiff-leg deadlifts, single-leg curls — I saw growth almost overnight. Variety of exercises also enabled me to increase my overall strength in other exercises as well. My squats went up because I mixed in leg presses and hacks, varied the order and put more emphasis on my hamstrings.

One week it might be chest on day one, triceps-back-biceps on day two, and shoulders-legs on day three. Other times it might be legs by themselves, then chest-shoulders-triceps, then back-biceps. Don’t forget, however, that when I started bodybuilding, I was doing legs by themselves to build my foundation. Now, I’m on a double-split of three-on/one-off, so I can do legs in the morning and still have enough energy to do something else at night.

Building a Solid Foundation
One leg workout will be heavy and the next one “light,” which is relative since I use burn exercises for higher reps, while still pushing it.

Heavy day: Squats, leg presses, leg extensions and leg curls, between 8-10 repetitions per set. For most exercises I do four sets, except for squats, where I might easily do eight sets.

Light day: Leg curls, leg extensions, hack squats and lunges, four sets per exercise for 15 to 20 repetitions per set.

I train calves with legs, and I do them first because, remember, I believe in training the body from the bottom up, and because calves are usually the most stubborn-growing bodyparts.

With each succeeding heavy workout, I will mix up the exercises. If the preceding heavy workout began with squats, the current session will begin with leg presses. That way, it doesn’t always seem that I’m placing too much emphasis on squatting for poundage.

I work progressively, pyramiding the weight. Sometimes I might take three sets to warm up, but once I’m warm I’ll do at least four sets of hard, heavy, full-range reps. With squats, for example, I’ll customarily go up to 315 pounds and do four sets of eight to 8. That’s not my maximum; however, I restrict myself to avoid disproportionate leg development.

Squats
I squat in front of a mirror. My head is straight and I never, never have a spotter standing in back of me. I’m a firm believer in going it alone. If I fail, I fail by myself. Don’t help me; please don’t help me! Knowing I’m alone up there against the weights requires that I call on all my resources to do a consummate set. If the weight is too heavy and there’s a spotter, he’s the one the weight’s going to be dropped on. Nor do I want anyone hugging me or hanging on me. Just stand aside and watch. (If I’m training with someone, I might ask him how many reps he thinks I can get, and if he says 10, I’ll do 11 or 12 just to impress him.)

I go down as far as my body can take me. I have never done half squats nor stopped just after breaking parallel; it’s always been all the way. When I get up to 315 pounds I begin using wraps and a belt, but I don’t use them for support to help get the weight up; they only serve as a precaution against injury.

Lunges
Lunges are a year-round exercise for me. Most bodybuilders neglect lunges, but I believe they’re vital in that some bodybuilders have a tendency to develop large buttocks from squats. What lunges do is shape from the top of the glutes all the way down to the knee insertion. They also help bring out the cuts high on the front thigh, as well as the line that separates the thigh from the hamstring in a side chest pose.

This exercise doesn’t require heavy weight. Instead, with lunges you want to concentrate on the full stretch, one leg at a time. Using only the floor — not an elevated box — I perform 12 reps first on one leg, then the other, stepping as far forward as I can, keeping my back erect, making sure my trailing knee touches the ground. Make sure to keep your head up on lunges; if it’s down you’ll lose your balance.

Lunges are one of the major exercises for women because they do such a good job of shaping and firming the glutes and the backs of the thighs

I don’t use progressive weight for lunges, just a 45-pound plate on each side, and I keep it at that weight for all four sets. Usually I do lunges at the end of my leg workout, though sometimes I’ll mix them up with my other leg exercises.

Leg Presses
I never use my hands to help press on my knees or thighs, nor do I use shoulder leverage to help in the lift. My stance does vary, however; usually I’ll have my heels together with my toes out at a 45-degree angle; the next time the feet may be parallel and close together. However, I don’t believe foot positioning in this exercise is that important; I do it simply because I like variety in all my exercises.

Hack Squats
Strict form is extremely important for this movement. My feet are flat — I don’t rock forward on my toes — and I make sure the movement is conducted very smoothly, without jerking. I concentrate on the part of the thigh that is just above the knee in the outer sweep.

Squats give you the thickness, leg presses give you hamstrings and thickness in the top of your thighs, but hack squats are what really round out your legs for the full sweep.

I prefer to do high reps for hacks; that’s why I do them on my “light” day. It’s important to not exaggerate your hack movement because it’s easy to hyperextend your knee or tear a ligament.

Leg Curls
Hamstrings are frequently overlooked but they are equally as important as the front thighs. The type of contraction I look for in leg curls is what I want to feel when doing a single-arm biceps shot. Being a black bodybuilder and not having very many role models with impressive hamstrings, I’m trying to set a precedent. I’m trying to be the one everybody is trying to emulate. That’s why with each contest you can see the development and the maturity not only in my thighs but in my hamstrings as well.

Calves
The calf exercises I do are seated raises, standing raises and donkey raises. Although I only do one exercise on a given day, I won’t repeat it the next time I train calves. Usually I do eight to 10 sets per exercise, 12 to 25 reps.

It’s never too early to prioritize legs in your workout. In fact, the biggest mistake bodybuilders make is thinking that legs can take away from their emphasis on other bodyparts. Quite the contrary. There has long been a theory that bombing legs actually enhances the growth of the rest of the body about 15%. It may even stimulate increased testosterone production, which we all know builds muscle.

So, treat your legs as though they were a body in themselves. At the worst, you will build frightening, outrageous legs.

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

Building Monster Legs or The Definitive Guide to Unleashing Massiveness in Your Tree Trunk Thighs

The secret to cultivating the pulsating peaks that are attached to your femurs* is a routine I like to call: Shock and Rest. The first stage of course is the unavoidable Shock portion. Let us take a look at a workout plan that will make your peep squeak arms a thing of the past.

“Bicep Madness” is a workout that I created that requires strict form and balls to the wall intensity.

Part I – The Warm Up = Blood Flow

Utilizing a cambered curl bar perform 4 slow sets of curls with 50% of your one rep max.
Maintain your rep count for each set at 16 for a minimum, preferably 21 reps per set.
Bring the bar to your nose and squeeze your bicep at the top of the positive. Lower the bar excruciatingly slow for a true burn on the negative side of the rep.
Allow yourself 15 seconds of rest between sets.
Remember to flex (squeeze) at the top of the movement, keep the pace steady, and you must emphasize the negative.
Rest a full 60 seconds after the fourth set and move on to Part II,

Part II – 21’s

The “21” is quickly becoming the forgotten movement. Like a long lost tribe in the Central American jungle the 21 is rarely ever seen anymore and some of us have never even heard of it. The 21 is simple but definitely a challenge. The exercise is comprised of a three movement set; 7reps+7reps+7reps= 21 reps.
Load a cambered curl bar with 65% of your one rep max.
The first seven reps consist of a half rep that begins at the rest stage (the bar lying across your thighs) and ends at an imaginary plane or ceiling that exist just below your nipples.
Perform this descending half movement in a slow controlled pace.
The next seven reps is the ascending portion of the set. The starting point is the opposite at this stage. Begin with the weight at your nose and lower the weight slowly with extreme emphasis on the negative. The rep ends atop that imaginary plane, just above your nipples. Squeeze at the top of the movement and maintain strict form.
The final movement of a set of 21’s is the full range motion curl for seven reps. Feel the blood flow and keep strict form.
Rest 30 seconds and perform another set of 21’s.
Rest a minute and move on to Part III.

Part III – Dumbbell Pounding

I utilize 45 pound dumbbells for “Dumbbell Pounding”.
Find your comfort zone poundage for this exercise, 35 pounders or 30’s work well too.
The goal of Dumbbell Pounding is to perform 60 reps of simultaneous curls under 4 minutes all without letting go of the dumbbell or setting the weight down.
I usually perform 12 to 14 reps each set and rest for 15 seconds between sets.
Maniac gripping power and savage overall arm strength is what results from mastering Dumbbell Pounding.
Your biceps will respond to the constant stress by getting a positive swell on.
If you feel strong shoot for 80 reps under a 4 minute limit.
Rest 2 minutes and move on to Part IV.

Part IV – Bread and Butter

Now here is the business end of the workout.
Load the cambered bar with a weight that you can pump out 10 to 12 reps with.
Alternate sets by performing the first set standing and then make the next one a preacher curl.
Keep the rep pace steady and make the negative count.
Aim to perform 6 sets with 55 second of rest between sets.
Rest 2 minutes and move on to Part V.

Part V – The Heavy

You have made it to the end. Now get heavy. Load your faithful cambered curling bar with 90% of your curl max and perform 2 to 3 reps for 4 sets.
Feel your biceps grow.
Rest for a minute…

Part VI – The Cherry On Top and some Rest

I lied the workout isn’t over.
Cap off your pump with one last set of 21’s.
Maintain strict form and concentrate on the negative.
Be sure to take in Whey Protein immediately following this work out.
If your guts can take it try to consume half a gallon of water to hydrate your muscles.
Plenty of water intake is key if you want to grow and get stronger.
Rest is crucial to bicep growth. Three days rest for your biceps should be the minimum.
So train, rest, drink and be diesel.

*The bicep is attached to the humerus, not the femurs. Just wanted to make sure you were paying attention.

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

Building The Ultimate Bicep

Latissimus Dorsi

The latissimus dorsi (Lats) is a large, fan-shaped muscle that starts out wide at the level of the shoulders and ends medially at the level of the pelvis. Your Lats are the biggest muscle of your back and your upper body. We often forget about Lats because they are difficult to see in the mirror. Out of sight, out of mind.

The Lats are often called “wings” because when they are very wide, they actually look like wings. However, they look more like bat’s wings and less like bird’s. Your Lats perform many actions, but their main function is to bring your arms closer to your body.

Weight Loss

Along with giving you a V-Shape, training your Lats will also help you lose weight. Building these large muscles will boost your metabolism and turn you into a 24-hours-a-day fat burning machine.

Other Benefits

Larger, wider and stronger Lats can also help you:

• Throw harder
• Punch harder
• Pull harder
• Swim faster
• Climb faster

They can also help improve your posture and make your waist appear thinner.

Growing Wings

The two main ingredients to bigger and stronger muscles are diet and exercise. They are equally as important. Exercise breaks the muscle down and diet build them back up. To build larger or stronger muscles, you must eat enough calories and enough quality protein.

A wider back is a larger back. To build large muscles you should do 3 sets of an exercise with rep goals of 10 -12. The best exercises for a wide back are:

• Wide Grip Pull Ups
• Wide Grip Lat Pull Downs
• Wide Grip Bent Over Rows
• Wide Grip Seated Rows

Along with diet and exercise, you will need to sleep 7- 9 hours every night and drink plenty of fluids. You cannot grow wings over night, so be patient. With perseverance you will get there.

Dr. Kalvin Chinyere is a weight-loss expert and ex-fat man. He is also the creator of the Don’t Go Broke Weight Loss Plan and the main contributor at Dr. Kal’s Blog.

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

How to Grow Wings or Get a Wide Back

This is the first of a new series of weekly posts by Kalvin C. Chinyere, M.D. (Dr. Kal). Along with being a Doctor of Medicine, he is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine as a Health and Fitness Instructor and personal trainer. To top it all off he was once a fat bastard, man boobs and all. Don’t believe me? Keep reading. Having been there and done that, he is now ready to unleash his years of knowledge upon us all.

And now back to our regularly scheduled post…

When it comes to upper body workouts, everyone is always focused on chest. Everyone wants big pecs. When I tell another guy that I lift weights the first question he asks is: How much do you bench? I always answer the question, but in my head I’m thinking: Who cares?

I spent most of my late teens and early twenties with “man boobs” big enough to fill a C cup. So, having a big chest is something I’m really not interested in. What I want are big shoulders.

If you lift weights to improve your physical appearance and you are a man, shoulders should be at the top of your list of muscles to build.

Broad Shoulders

When you put on your shirt, tie, and slacks, no one can see how big your chest, back, arms, or legs are. However, they can see how broad your shoulders are. So, unless you decide to start wearing really tight shirts, shoulders should be high on your priority list.

Broad shoulders tell a woman that you are strong. Consciously and subconsciously, she is attracted to that. She is attracted because she believes that if she were attacked by a saber-toothed tiger, you could save her. The truth is, if my woman were attacked by a saber-toothed tiger, I would probably trip her as I run away.

Broad shoulders also tell a man you are strong. Consciously and subconsciously, he fears and respects that. He fears and respects you because he believes if he were to fight you, he would lose. The truth is, if a man were to try and fight me, I would just pull out my Taser. Then all you would hear is: “Don’t tase me bro.”

Finally, broad shoulders are important because they make you appear thinner. How thin you look depends on your shoulder to waist ratio. The higher this ratio, the thinner and fitter you appear. So, if you can’t get your waist any smaller, focus on getting your shoulders broader.

How To Get Shoulders Like Boulders

My favorite shoulder exercises are:

• Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press: Front and Lateral Deltoids
• Lateral Raise: Lateral Deltoids
• Bent Over Lateral Raise: Rear Deltoids
• Seated Barbell Shoulder Press: Front and Lateral Deltoids

A little note on the Barbell Shoulder Press/Military Press: Please do not “hit it from the back”. Meaning, do not attempt the variation where you allow the barbell to go behind your head. Doing this adds no benefit and can potentially damage your shoulders.

Now you are ready to carry the world on your shoulders, so go and do it.

Dr. Kal is weight-loss expert and ex-fat man. He is also the creator of the Don’t Go Broke Weight Loss Plan and the main contributor at Dr. Kal’s Blog.

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

Carry The World On Your Shoulders

What is elastic resistance training (ERT)?
As the name suggests ERT is resistance training performed against the natural resistive property of elastic. The elastic band is attached to a fixed object with the opposite end attached to the person. If you work out at a gym this could mean attaching one end to the upright of any machine, if at home you can improvise with door handles and table legs. The resistance depends on the type of band, there are at least 7 varieties, and how far the band is stretched. A band that is stretched to twice its resting state is considered to be at 100% elongation. The force difference between the two weakest bands at 2x their length is 20%. For the two bands with greatest resistance this force difference becomes 59%. The weakest band provides a force equivalent to 2.3 kg (5 lbs) and the strongest band 16 kg (35 lbs) at 2x their length. This scope ensures that a band is available for all people who wish to train this way.

Why use ERT?
This is simple. A single band can be used to train the whole body. All the major muscle groups can be trained with compound exercises and single muscles can be targeted with isolation exercises. Aside to this, the bands can be used to mimic sport specific movements that take place in many planes a clear advantage over machines and free weights or should I say a clear reason to add them to your machine and free weights workout.

The versatility of ERT training also shines through. Traditional forms of resistance training often rely on gravity to create the resistance due to this factor many of the movements are restricted to the vertical plane. Because of this it is difficult to replicate movements that are specific to life and sport that occur in 3 planes. ERT utilizes the tension in the band therefore negating the need to resist gravity and allow actions that are specific and take place in all 3 planes (frontal, sagittal, and transverse).

All ERT exercises are performed using multiple joint actions and a functional posture. A functional posture is deemed to be one that requires activation of the core muscles to stabilize the torso, in comparison, machines where many actions are performed in a neutral posture like sitting.

When training with free weights it is possible to “cheat” by allowing momentum to contribute to the forceful effort. For example, when people curling a dumb bell that is too heavy for the first half of the exercise the biceps are stimulated, but, the second half only represents the momentum of the weight. ERT exercises eliminate this temptation because momentum has no input.

The most notable advantage of ERT exercise is attributed to the smooth eccentric phase of the actions. The eccentric part, the return to start phase of an exercise, stimulates the muscles in a particular way that enables them to resist gravity. This in turn improves the ability of the body to stand with good posture and not succumb to the downward force of gravity.

Disadvantages of ERT
The elastic bands can become worn and less durable. This can mean that the resistance is diminished therefore compromising he workout. To overcome this predicament the bands can be bought at a cheaper price when purchased in bulk. This way you can cut off the length that you require and store the rest.

It can be difficult to quantify the exact force of resistance. There are charts that aim to provide the force for each of the bands at different lengths but these are estimates only. In my opinion this does not really matter, do I need to know exactly what force I have to overcome? So long as the bands are providing sufficient resistance to stimulate the intended muscles, and I have a general idea of the resistance, I’m happy.

GoFit Brand for Less than $30
The GoFit brand has a low cost set they call the Ultimate ProGYM. It comes with a set of elastic bands and a DVD, perfect for traveling. It comes highly recommended by a doctor/personal training certified online friend.

*Daniel is the author of Home Calisthenics, a blog that aims to help people to train their body using bodyweight and alternative strategies without the need for gym membership.

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

Elastic Resistance Training for Strength Gains

Platz’s training principle was simple: the harder the better. Platz enjoyed squatting with 225 pounds for ten minutes straight. That was his style and the reason he created such massive and striated quads. High volume training was a main stay for Platz. Leg curls and leg extensions were performed at 60 rep increments…yes sets of 60, talk about blood flow. Take a walk on the wild side with this taste of Platz and see if you can even walk in the morning:

Flat footed Olympic style Squats (pyramid sets)

• 6 sets of 15 reps
• 2 sets of 10 reps
• 1 set of 6 reps
• 1 set of 5 reps
• 1 set of 1 rep

Hack Squats

• 4 sets of 20 reps
• Leg Curls
• 4 sets of 60 reps

Leg Extensions

• 4 sets of 60 reps

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

Tom Platz: The Lumberjack of Quadriceps

Anyway, back to lifting weights after surgery. I have been looking forward to this day for a few weeks. It sucked pretty bad to go down when I did because I was in a good rhythm with my current work out routine. That one is an intense, short, fat burning, multi-joint exercise routine. I happen to like it a lot. It gets me going pretty quickly. I plan on continuing that for the next 3 to 4 weeks with one change to it. I will be adding squats 3 times a week to it.

Why more squatting? For starters, Mehdi from Strong Lifts just randomly contacted me introducing himself and recommending that I make that light tweak to my workout. I had never been to his site, but it is a good one. He has tons of fat loss and muscle building info, plus his ebook is off the hizzy! It has a great workout that he has put together, which I plan on undertaking after my current workout. Another reason I want to squat more is because I how great I feel when I squat. Squatting makes me stronger. Period. I used to squat 3 times a week when I played high school football. That was all year round. I didn’t always like it, but when I was done I felt great.

One of the good things about having had my appendix removal surgery is that it heals relatively quickly. That allows for lifting weights after surgery a lot sooner than a typical surgery. That may not seem like a benefit, but I suppose I am looking at the glass half full on this one. I will post an update on the success, or failure, of my new workouts.

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

Lifting Weights After Surgery

Mike Mentzer’s owned a pair of seriously full blown triceps. They were “ham-like” from deltoid to elbow. His triceps we not missing an ounce of development. His triceps sweep was down right scary-good. So did Mr. Mentzer use a myriad of movements and exercises to attain his triceps size? The answer is no for Mr. Heavy Duty. Mentzer didn’t do more than two exercises during a triceps workout. Mentzer also kept his set totals to four or six. The Mentzer Heavy Duty technique was what created the brutality needed to develop serious muscle. He pushed every set to failure, absolute failure.

Forced reps performed with a training partner were a crucial part of Mentzer’s workload. Mentzer’s training partner would also assist Mentzer with lifting the weight into position to perform negative only reps. This created a three stage set. A “Trio of Pain” if you will: first a positive failure, followed by forced reps, and finally capped off by negative failure.

Let’s take a look at a Mentzer staple:

Superset

Nautilus triceps extensions or Lat machine pushdowns (lat machine’s more prevalent nowadays):
3 sets of 8 reps using the Trio of Pain

Weighted Dips:
3 sets of 8 reps using the Trio of Pain

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty Triceps Routine

The theory was tested. 30 subjects divided into three groups. The first group thought of training their pinky finger muscles. The second group thought of training their triceps and the third group served as the control and did no imaginary heavy lifting. The training sessions were 15 minutes a day, five days a week, for 12 weeks. During the mental training the subjects were hooked up to an electroencephalograph machine (say that three times fast). The machine measures brain waves and found high activity and focus in the prefrontal cortex area of the brain in group one and especially in group two. The activity was low prior to the imaginary workouts. Finger strength was measured before and after the training periods. Increases in strength topped out over 30% for the finger group. The triceps group had a little over a 10% gain. Now that’s using your brain power. The control had zilch…surprise, surprise.

What this all points to and what does it mean for us? Well simply put the mental training exemplifies the connection between strength gains and the all holy mind-body connection. This is a prime example that you can control your muscles using your brain power…no duh? Don’t stop training! Just implement what anyone great has done in any field whether it be piano performances, giving a speech, a first kiss, shooting the game winning jump shot, or doing a killer set of deadlifts: VISUALIZE. See yourself doing the action. Feel the set, smell it, and refine your mental senses. So no daydreaming, focus during training: feel the brain connection and enjoy the pump. Besides if you don’t maintain complete mental fortitude you miss out on possible muscle gains and even can fall in to the injury trap. My advice: Think of training before you go to bed and wake up stronger and become great. Use your brain power. Happy trails…muscle brethren.

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

Brain Power Equals Muscle Size

In the 1950’s the very popular “split-routine” training became all the rage. The fuel behind the phenomenon was the belief that you can train muscles full blast if you divided the training days into “muscle groups.” So you were training on more days but concentrating on specific muscles. And who can forget how Arnold Schwarzenegger evolved the “split” into the “double-split” method. The “double-split” theory involves training a lot: two or even three daily workouts.

Arthur Jones took the 1970’s by storm with the introduction of the Nautilus exercise machines. He accompanied his latest invention with a endorsement of short intense workouts. Intensity was the key a semi-throwback to the 1950’s and Grimek and Reeves. Arthur Jones felt that all of us over-trained. Over-training thus leading to our naturally limited ability to recover to be depleted.He truly believed that all humans no matter what body type followed the same physiological laws no matter how different we were genetically. So in a sense, he tailored and touted his workouts as one size fits all remedies. Weird I know and complex, but maybe true? I don’t know. I have tried all methods and my body morphs in all different ways. So in my opinion, variety is the spice of a complete physique. Of course, we all have our favorite niche workouts and exercises.

The late, great Mike Mentzer was a Jones product and further developed his exercise theories. Mike Mentzer used Arthur Jones’ training philosophy to attain every major bodybuilding title worth having except the Mr. Olympia crown. Mentzer eventually cut back even further and became a proponent of training muscle groups once a week or less. At that point intensity has to be on animal-istic levels: I likey!

That’s it for now. Tomorrow I delve further into brain power…

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

Morphing How the Original Greats Trained

I had to print out a chart so that I could remember what to do on the days I was lifting. I find it will take away the hassle of having to memorize the routine. That helps me focus on the lifting. So I opened up Microsoft Word and did my thing. Now the chart is hanging in The Shack.

Free Workout Routine:
Day 1 (Tuesday)
1. Barbell Squats – 135 lbs, 185 lbs, 205 lbs, 225 lbs (I used to squat over 400 lbs in high school, it’s been a while)
2. Flat Bench – 135 lbs, 225lbs x 3, 205 lbs
3. Dumbbell Presses – 50 lbs x 3
4. Incline Bench (Barbell) – 135 lbs x 2, 155 lbs

Day 2 (Thursday)
1. Deadlift – 135 lbs, 155 lbs x 2, 185 lbs
2. Step Ups (dumbbells) – 35 lbs, 50 lbs x 2
3. Dumbbell Rows – 50 lbs x 3
4. Close Grip Pulldowns (Palms facing inward) – 80 lbs x 3
5. Wide Grip Pulldowns – 65 lbs x 3

Day 3 (Saturday)
1. Lunges (Dumbbells) – 50 lbs x 3
2. Military (Overhead) Press – 135 lbs x 3
3. Dumbbell Military Press – 50 lbs x 3
4. Upright Rows – 60 lbs x 3

What do I do with my other days? Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are my cardio exercise days.

Free Exercise Routine:
1. I make sure to get some form of cardio in, whether it is on the treadmill, the bike, or outside cross training. I especially like doing HIIT. There’s nothing like it.
2. I also work my midsection on these days. I perform two sets of 100 twists (works best when done with weights), two sets of 15 reps on the ab wheel, and two sets of 40 to 50 crunches.
3. When I am extra energized I hop on the recumbent bike for another hour as a second workout. Sundays I’m a lazy bum and recuperate.

I had my first workout yesterday (Thursday, Day 2) and I felt it. All of it. I was drenched in sweat, my heart rate was up, and I was pumped. Not sure if you could see the sweat in the main photo above, but my wife tried to capture the essence of what I felt at the moment. I am looking forward to Saturdays workout. I love taking hot steam showers and drinking my protein/creatine/amino acids/glutamine shake afterwards, it feels really good when I am done with a tough workout session.

That’s my workout and I’m sticking to it!

This is an article from FatManUnleashed.com's Healthy Weight Loss and Fitness Blog.

My Current Fat Man Workout Routine