You now have eight amazing exercise moves in your fat-torching arsenal. These are so effective and versatile that they’re really the only eight exercises you need to master to get into great shape with just your body weight. Now it’s time to show you how to combine these exercises into body-changing workouts that you can do anytime, anywhere.
The bodyweight programs that follow in this chapter and the next were choreographed with two types of exercisers in mind: rigid exercisers and flexible exercisers. Rigid exercisers prefer very structured programs that set out exactly what to do from start to finish. No guesswork, just results. Flexible exercisers prefer to take ownership of their programs; they thrive on constant variety and a feeling of control. They tend to do better by working within a bunch of workout templates that let them customize their workouts to their specific goals.
Most beginners prefer the rigid approach because they like a lot of guidance and it helps them to have a set training schedule. But as beginners progress and get leaner, stronger, and more confident, they tend to want to try new things, and they become more flexible in their workouts. I’ve known a lot of fitness professionals who started out as overweight and out-of-shape beginners. After transforming their bodies—and ultimately their lives—they go all in and eventually follow a career path of changing the bodies and lives of others. Heck, I’m one of them!
So we’ll begin with beginners in mind, using a rigid-style workout called the Bodyweight Burners Program. It’s a five-phase program designed to take you from ground zero to superhero, and it’s ideal for the exerciser who wants some structure. This program is perfect for you if:
You have a lot of body fat to lose.
You are new to bodyweight training.
You are looking for a jump-start to get back in shape.
In the next chapter, you’ll find the Bodyweight 8 workouts for the flexible exerciser, which include my favorite bodyweight training templates that you can mix and match at your pleasure. These workouts are best for people who:
Are already exercising regularly.
Have greater fitness knowledge.
Have already completed the Bodyweight Burners Program.
It’s time to make a change, baby!
THE BODYWEIGHT BURNERS PROGRAM
This is the simplest and most effective rapid-fat-loss program you’ll find anywhere using nothing but your body weight. The high-intensity 60-second work periods burn the sugar stored in your muscles, which shifts your body into a turbocharged fat-burning state during rest periods and in the hours and days between workouts. The short, incomplete 15-second rest periods give you just enough time to recover and transition to the next exercise, which maximizes key fat-burning hormones like growth hormone and keeps your heart rate elevated throughout the workout to improve your cardio conditioning and boost calorie-burning. Studies show that this type of metabolic resistance-training circuit can elevate your metabolism for 48 hours or more after completing your workout. Depending on your body size, fitness level, and gender, you can expect to burn 20 calories or more every minute.
There are five phases in this program, each phase lasting 28 days, or 4 weeks, for 5 months total. This is a progressive program: Each phase is matched with the appropriate exercise level for each Bodyweight 8 exercise. In Phase 1, you’ll be using all of the Level 1 exercise variations; in Phase 2, you’ll be using the Level 2 exercise variations; and so forth. You can expect to see significant results within the first 28 days—specifically, 10 or more pounds of weight loss, stronger muscles, and increased energy. What’s more, you’ll sleep better, your mood will improve, and you’ll reap countless health benefits. And by the end of this 5-month total-body transformation program, you will be a lean, mean fitness machine! What does that mean exactly? You can reasonably expect to lower your body-fat percentage into the teens and be in the best shape of your life—I’m talking about fitness-model shape with well-defined lean muscle and abs that ripple.
Here’s how it works.
Perform this whole-body workout three times per week with ideally 48 hours between workouts. For example, perform these workouts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Alternate between 60 seconds of work and 15 seconds of rest for each exercise in the bodyweight circuit. Here’s the general order of exercises.
1.Hip Thrust Variation
2.Pushup Variation
3.Deep Squat Variation
4.Row Variation
5.Hip Hinge Variation
6.Handstand Pushup Variation
7.Single-Leg Squat Variation
8.Pullup Variation
Each circuit is 10 minutes in duration. For best results, I recommend that you perform at least three total cycles for a 30-minute workout. If you’re short on time or just getting back into shape, perform one or two cycles for a 10- or 20-minute workout. If you have more time to train or already train regularly, perform four to six cycles for a 40- to 60-minute workout. This is your program, so feel free to customize it to your exact schedule and fitness level.
Perform as many quality reps as you can with perfect form and technique within each 60-second work period. If it’s an isometric exercise, simply hold the position for as long as you can. If you need to rest, pause at any point during a given work period and resume when ready before time is up. This is referred to as rest-pause training and it allows you to do more overall reps with a harder exercise variation (or a heavier load) over multiple sets using short 5- to 20-second rest periods than you could accomplish with a single set. This leads to greater strength and muscle gains and enhanced fat loss. In a recent study published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, experienced lifters burned 18 percent more calories 22 hours after using the rest-pause workout technique than they burned after doing a traditional single-set workout. What’s more, the lifters lost more body fat. Your ultimate goal is to eventually be able to work continuously for the full 60 seconds without stopping.
For all unilateral exercises (where you use one limb at a time), be sure to switch sides at the halfway mark so you perform 30 seconds of work on each side, always starting with your weak side first when you’re most fresh. You could also perform all your reps/work on one side for the full minute and then switch sides from cycle to cycle, if you’d like. Just make sure to perform an equal number of sets/reps on each side and an even number of total cycles of the circuit (two, four, or six instead of three). A final option is to perform a single rep on one side, then switch sides, and keep alternating for 1 minute. I like this for really challenging moves like Pistol Squats, Single-Arm Pushups, and Self-Assisted Single-Arm Pullups because it keeps the intensity high and ensures that you’re not too fatigued before you switch sides. You also don’t have to worry about looking at a clock to figure out when to switch sides.
In general, you should be able to perform at least 10 total reps (5 per side for a unilateral movement) within each 60-second work period. If you’re consistently getting fewer than 10 total reps, make the exercise easier by using one of the microregressions within each exercise level. If you’re consistently getting more than 10 total reps, make the exercise harder by using one of the microprogressions within each exercise level.
If you’re using plyometric exercises like Squat Jumps, Vertical Jumps, Plyo Pushups, or Plyo Rows, pause for 4 to 5 seconds in the top or bottom position between explosive reps to emphasize quality over quantity. You can also alternate between 10 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest three times to fill the full minute. Just don’t do fast jumping movements for a minute straight; the risk of injury is greater than the reward.
After 28 days (4 weeks), move up to the next exercise level in the program.
Month 1: Level 1 Ground Zero
Month 2: Level 2 Beginner
Month 3: Level 3 Intermediate
Month 4: Level 4 Advanced
Month 5: Level 5 Superhero
You can also employ the drop-set technique for some additional burning. This means you start with the hardest exercise variation you can handle for a given movement for the first 30 seconds (such as Feet-Elevated Pushups) and then immediately drop to a slightly easier exercise variation for the final 30 seconds (like floor Pushups) to allow you to keep going. But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. For starters, follow this structured program to a T and you’ll reap incredible benefits, guaranteed.
Level 1 Ground Zero (28 Days)
1 HIP THRUST
2 PLANK
3 WALL SIT
4 HANGING BRIDGE
5 HIP HINGE
6 DIRTY DOG PUSHUP
7 SINGLE-LEG WALL SIT
8 DEAD HANG
Level 2 Beginner (28 Days)
1 SHOULDERS-ELEVATED HIP THRUST
2 PUSHUP
3 BOX SQUAT
4 ROW
5 STAGGERED HIP HINGE
6 PUSH-AWAY
7 STEPUP
8 FLEXED HANG
Level 3 Intermediate (28 Days)
1 FEET-ELEVATED HIP THRUST
2 SELF-ASSISTED SINGLE-ARM PUSHUP
3 DEEP SQUAT
4 SELF-ASSISTED SINGLE-ARM ROW
5 SINGLE-LEG HIP HINGE
6 PIKE PUSHUP
7 STAGGERED SQUAT
8 ECCENTRIC PULLUP
Level 4 Advanced (28 Days)
1 SHOULDERS- AND FEET-ELEVATED HIP THRUST
2 SINGLE-ARM PUSHUP
3 DEEP OVERHEAD SQUAT
4 SINGLE-ARM ROW
5 VERTICAL JUMP
6 HANDSTAND PUSHUP
7 LUNGE
8 PULLUP
Level 5 Superhero (28 Days)
1 SINGLE-LEG HIP THRUST
2 PLYOMETRIC PUSHUP
3 JUMP SQUAT
4 PLYOMETRIC ROW
5 STAGGERED VERTICAL JUMP
6 SELF-ASSISTED SINGLE-ARM HANDSTAND PUSHUP
7 SINGLE-LEG SQUAT
8 SELF-ASSISTED SINGLE-ARM PULLUP
