Dadbod Series: Need a new training plan?

 

It’s been awhile….  

You know what they say though – distance makes the heart grow fonder. Or, at least that’s what Amber tells me. Burn!

Enough with the jokes. Let’s get down to business. 

For the last two months, I’ve been working on a new training program. 

My workouts were becoming Seinfeld reruns. The first 2-3 times I watched an episode, I laughed. By the 4th, 5th, and 6th time, I hardly cracked a smile and found myself clicking to the Bachelorette during commercial breaks (and worse, sometimes not clicking back to Seinfeld). 

I was bored, not seeing the results I hoped for, and just needed something fresh. Plus, I had been skimping on cardio and needed a new program that would “force” me to do it. 

With all of the talk of Crossfit at the gym, I started playing around with a few ideas loosely based on its programming and methodology. I had been on bodybuilding-type splits for the last 4-5 months and on a powerlifting/athletic split prior to that. A Crossfit-like program was the “different” I needed, especially since the indoor triathlon teased my competitive spirit. 

I will admit though I have a love-hate relationship with Crossfit. 

I love Crossfit’s focus on the big, compound lifts, the team-like workouts, and the competitive nature of the workouts. Behind Arnold and Joe Weider, Crossfit has done more for fitness than anyone else. Unlike most non-Crossfitters, I’m thankful for Glassman and hope Crossfit continues to grow. 

 

However, even though I’d love to give Glassman a high-five, I must admit there are a few things I don’t care for. Olympic lifts done for high reps with little rest just seems a little too dangerous and teaching people how to properly execute them takes too long. Kipping pull-ups seem like cheating. And, most importantly, I understand the importance of “varied workouts,” but in my humble opinion, a logical, systemized progression following the overload principle should be included in every workout plan. I need to know if I’m getting better week to week, or at the very minimum, doing more. 

 

So taking those things into consideration,

1. My love for big, compound lifts.

2. My unwillingness to do cardio on its own.

3. The envy I have for Crossfit’s team-like, competitive workouts. 

4. The progressive overload principle and a systemized progression

 

I’m been playing around with a new training plan I call the Spartan Workout. 

 

It consists of four 45-60 minutes workouts every week. The 4 workouts are:

One workout on Monday dedicated to improving strength in the major compound lifts.

Two workouts dedicated to metabolic hypertrophy (increasing muscle mass while getting your cardio in) on Tuesdays and Fridays where you try to complete as many rounds in a set time.

One battle workout on Thursday that’s essentially a challenge where you’ll compete to complete it as fast as you can. 

 

Overall, it’s designed to get you strong, burn some calories (dare I say shred), get you in shape, and maintain/improve your muscle mass. It’s like a Swiss army knife. As I get older, I think finding balance becomes more and more important. It’s just not just about adding as much strength as possible or being able to run countless miles without stopping. Endurance is important. Strength is important. Muscle mass is important. Movement is important. Neglecting any of those leads to problems, and hopefully the Spartan Workout improves all of them. 

 

So, we’ve (3 guinea pigs and myself) been experimenting with it for the last 5 weeks, and although there are still kinks to fix, I’m enjoying it. In fact, I think it may be on the same entertainment level as watching The Office. 

 

The strength day still allows me to move some heavy weight. The metabolic hypertrophy workouts give me a nice pump, burns a ton of calories, and gives me a really good sweat. And the battle workout is the weekly competitive challenge I’ve been craving. Plus, the battle workout changes every week and the entire program is changed every 5 weeks. So it gives me just enough stability to see improvements but changes enough that I don’t get bored. 

 

If you’re interested in it, I post the workouts on Ageless’ instagram account (@agelessfitness) weekly. Let me know how you like them. And if you have an idea to improve it, let me know. 

 

P.S. This isn’t just for guys. 2 of my 3 guinea pigs are girls. It’s for everyone – young, old, female, male, newbie, veteran lifter