David Carraturo's Blog - Posts Tagged "start-of-exercise-routine"
Diesel Dad - Day 1, Week 1, Phase 1
The day has come where you now begin to transform your body. You should be in good basic shape, the doctor has given you a clean bill of health, maybe you are 10-15 pounds overweight but nothing too serious. You can run 3 miles no problem and you have been working out in a gym for enough time to know your capabilities. A hundred dollars or so later, you have new workout shoes, some tight fitting breathable shirts and shorts and you are ready to go.
As you work through the beginning phase you should visualize what you want to accomplish. Write down your daily accomplishments in an exercise log, extrapolate out some realistic (and even unrealistic) goals of where you want to be strength wise in 40-48 weeks. If you achieve these goals, then your body transformation will correlate. Around the 36-40 week timeframe your energy/testosterone level will be through the roof so you should start to look for things to do to occupy a few Saturday/Sunday mornings in the summer. Personally, I like to compete in Spartan Races, but there are so many others that you can also sign-up for that will be fun, challenging and get you hooked to do another … and then another, etc. Tough Mudders, Urban Mudders, Civilian Military Combines and extreme races of all sorts are out there. Google them and see what course and location is best for you. Ask other friends to come and do it with you, but don’t count on it. You are entering another level of physical fitness that 40-50 year old sedentary dads simply will not comprehend. I also look for charity inspired events and the one that I compete in to kick off my event season is the Wall Street Decathlon (www.thedecathlon.org). I end my 48 weeks of training with the culmination of this event. Then during my 4 week rest period (and first 8 weeks of the next yearly cycle) I compete in a myriad of extreme racing events for fun.
But that is down the road and you have a long way to go before you win bench press competitions, climb over walls, grapple down rope fences, carry bags of sand up and down a mountain and jump over a fire pit. Today is Day 1, of Week 1 of Phase 1 of Diesel Dad.
Saturday, AM. This workout will scale into your routine and will be performed once in the first three cycles, then twice in cycles 4-6, three times in cycles 7-9 and four times in the final 10-12 cycles. It is time for Bench Press. I will break this out into Beginner, Moderate and Advanced. Choose your level and set your goals. Do not kill yourself or go out at a heavier pace than you need to do. Your body will tell you when you will be ready with the increased number of repetitions at each weight lifted. The entire workout should take no longer than 90 minutes.
• Advanced: Your goal should be 100 total reps in 7 sets of flat Bench Press. You do not have to do a warm up set. Your first set will warm you up plenty. 185x20, 205x15, 225x8, 245x2, 185x15, 155x20, 135x20. Rest about five minutes between each set, you will need it. By rest, I do not mean stand around and wait. You should use the five minutes to do a few leg exercises. The entire Bench Press portion of the workout should be 30-35 minutes.
o I do legs multiple times a week and intertwine the workouts with upper body. Legs are very important but are one of the first body parts to be neglected. By doing legs in between each Bench Press set, you recover your upper body and get your leg workout in without losing time.
o For legs, I do low impact type of exercises for this workout. In total you should do 24 total sets (3 sets of 8 separate exercises). Between each set of Bench Press, you should do 2 sets of legs. Exercises should include Leg Extensions, Reverse Curls, Calf Raisers, Dumbbell Squats, Dumbbell Toe Touches, and a few others based on what you have at your disposal at your gym.
• Moderate: Your goal should be 100 total reps in 7 sets of flat Bench Press. You do not have to do a warm up set. Your first set will warm you up. 155x20, 175x15, 185x8, 205x2, 155x15, 135x20, 115x20. Rest about five minutes between each set, you will need it. By rest, I do not mean stand around and wait. You should use the five minutes to do a few leg exercises. The entire Bench Press portion of the workout should be 30-35 minutes.
o Also incorporate the legs exercises that are detailed above.
• Beginner: Your goal should be 100 total reps in 7 sets of flat Bench Press. You do not have to do a warm up set. Your first set will warm you up. 135x20, 155x15, 165x8, 185x2, 135x15, 115x20, 95x20. Rest about five minutes between each set, you will need it. By rest, I do not mean stand around and wait. You should use the five minutes to do a few leg exercises. The entire Bench Press portion of the workout should be 30-35 minutes.
o Also incorporate the legs exercises that are detailed above.
The second portion of the workout is Dips. In between each set, continue with your leg exercises until all 24 sets are finished. This portion should take 15-20 minutes.
• Advanced: 100 Dips total. Your first set should be max reps and each subsequent set should be 60-75% of the prior set. So, an example of this Dips workout would be sets of 30, 25, 20, 15, 10.
• Moderate: 75 Dips total. Your first set should be max reps and each subsequent set should be 60-75% of the prior set. So, an example of this Dips workout would be sets of 20, 15, 12, 10, 5, 5, 5, 3.
• Beginner: 40 Dips total. Your first set should be max reps and each subsequent set should be 60-75% of the prior set. So, an example of this Dips workout would be sets of 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4.
The third phase of the workout is Pull-Ups. By this point of the workout, you may have a few leg exercises to complete. This would be the case if a machine was backed up and you could not do it in time and you had to go back to do the Bench Press or Dips set. This portion should also take 15-20 minutes.
• Advanced: 50 Pull-ups total. Your first set should be max reps and each subsequent set should be lower reps from the prior set. So, an example of this Pull-up workout would be sets of 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 5, 5, 4.
• Moderate: 30 Pull-ups total. Your first set should be max reps and each subsequent set should be lower reps from the prior set. So, an example of this Pull-up workout would be sets of 6, 5, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3.
• Beginner: 15 Pull-ups total. Your first set should be max reps and each subsequent set should be lower reps from the prior set. So, an example of this Pull-up workout would be sets of 5, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1.
The final portion of the workout is for cardio. Pick your non-treadmill pleasure (exercise bike, elliptical, etc. and break a sweat for 12 minutes. As with jogging, you will increase your minutes performed of this exercise by one minute every four week cycle until you have capped out at 20 minutes.
This workout will sneak up on you. You may not sweat much, but your chest and triceps should feel flush, tight, numb and good. If you do the workout early in the day, the fatigue may hit you by mid-day and you will crave a good nap! The next day, you should feel sore in all the right spots, yet you should not be hurting. This is a long road to travel and it is not the intention of Diesel Dad to burn you out this early.
The next post will be Day Two of the weekly workout. Day One totaled 90 minutes. Day Two will be 45 minutes, Day Three 60 minutes, Day Four 75 minutes for a total commitment of 5 hours. For the remainder of the first four week cycle, your weekly commitment will drop to 4 hours as you do not have to do this Day 1 – Week 1 workout again until Phase 2.
As you work through the beginning phase you should visualize what you want to accomplish. Write down your daily accomplishments in an exercise log, extrapolate out some realistic (and even unrealistic) goals of where you want to be strength wise in 40-48 weeks. If you achieve these goals, then your body transformation will correlate. Around the 36-40 week timeframe your energy/testosterone level will be through the roof so you should start to look for things to do to occupy a few Saturday/Sunday mornings in the summer. Personally, I like to compete in Spartan Races, but there are so many others that you can also sign-up for that will be fun, challenging and get you hooked to do another … and then another, etc. Tough Mudders, Urban Mudders, Civilian Military Combines and extreme races of all sorts are out there. Google them and see what course and location is best for you. Ask other friends to come and do it with you, but don’t count on it. You are entering another level of physical fitness that 40-50 year old sedentary dads simply will not comprehend. I also look for charity inspired events and the one that I compete in to kick off my event season is the Wall Street Decathlon (www.thedecathlon.org). I end my 48 weeks of training with the culmination of this event. Then during my 4 week rest period (and first 8 weeks of the next yearly cycle) I compete in a myriad of extreme racing events for fun.
But that is down the road and you have a long way to go before you win bench press competitions, climb over walls, grapple down rope fences, carry bags of sand up and down a mountain and jump over a fire pit. Today is Day 1, of Week 1 of Phase 1 of Diesel Dad.
Saturday, AM. This workout will scale into your routine and will be performed once in the first three cycles, then twice in cycles 4-6, three times in cycles 7-9 and four times in the final 10-12 cycles. It is time for Bench Press. I will break this out into Beginner, Moderate and Advanced. Choose your level and set your goals. Do not kill yourself or go out at a heavier pace than you need to do. Your body will tell you when you will be ready with the increased number of repetitions at each weight lifted. The entire workout should take no longer than 90 minutes.
• Advanced: Your goal should be 100 total reps in 7 sets of flat Bench Press. You do not have to do a warm up set. Your first set will warm you up plenty. 185x20, 205x15, 225x8, 245x2, 185x15, 155x20, 135x20. Rest about five minutes between each set, you will need it. By rest, I do not mean stand around and wait. You should use the five minutes to do a few leg exercises. The entire Bench Press portion of the workout should be 30-35 minutes.
o I do legs multiple times a week and intertwine the workouts with upper body. Legs are very important but are one of the first body parts to be neglected. By doing legs in between each Bench Press set, you recover your upper body and get your leg workout in without losing time.
o For legs, I do low impact type of exercises for this workout. In total you should do 24 total sets (3 sets of 8 separate exercises). Between each set of Bench Press, you should do 2 sets of legs. Exercises should include Leg Extensions, Reverse Curls, Calf Raisers, Dumbbell Squats, Dumbbell Toe Touches, and a few others based on what you have at your disposal at your gym.
• Moderate: Your goal should be 100 total reps in 7 sets of flat Bench Press. You do not have to do a warm up set. Your first set will warm you up. 155x20, 175x15, 185x8, 205x2, 155x15, 135x20, 115x20. Rest about five minutes between each set, you will need it. By rest, I do not mean stand around and wait. You should use the five minutes to do a few leg exercises. The entire Bench Press portion of the workout should be 30-35 minutes.
o Also incorporate the legs exercises that are detailed above.
• Beginner: Your goal should be 100 total reps in 7 sets of flat Bench Press. You do not have to do a warm up set. Your first set will warm you up. 135x20, 155x15, 165x8, 185x2, 135x15, 115x20, 95x20. Rest about five minutes between each set, you will need it. By rest, I do not mean stand around and wait. You should use the five minutes to do a few leg exercises. The entire Bench Press portion of the workout should be 30-35 minutes.
o Also incorporate the legs exercises that are detailed above.
The second portion of the workout is Dips. In between each set, continue with your leg exercises until all 24 sets are finished. This portion should take 15-20 minutes.
• Advanced: 100 Dips total. Your first set should be max reps and each subsequent set should be 60-75% of the prior set. So, an example of this Dips workout would be sets of 30, 25, 20, 15, 10.
• Moderate: 75 Dips total. Your first set should be max reps and each subsequent set should be 60-75% of the prior set. So, an example of this Dips workout would be sets of 20, 15, 12, 10, 5, 5, 5, 3.
• Beginner: 40 Dips total. Your first set should be max reps and each subsequent set should be 60-75% of the prior set. So, an example of this Dips workout would be sets of 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4.
The third phase of the workout is Pull-Ups. By this point of the workout, you may have a few leg exercises to complete. This would be the case if a machine was backed up and you could not do it in time and you had to go back to do the Bench Press or Dips set. This portion should also take 15-20 minutes.
• Advanced: 50 Pull-ups total. Your first set should be max reps and each subsequent set should be lower reps from the prior set. So, an example of this Pull-up workout would be sets of 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 5, 5, 4.
• Moderate: 30 Pull-ups total. Your first set should be max reps and each subsequent set should be lower reps from the prior set. So, an example of this Pull-up workout would be sets of 6, 5, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3.
• Beginner: 15 Pull-ups total. Your first set should be max reps and each subsequent set should be lower reps from the prior set. So, an example of this Pull-up workout would be sets of 5, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1.
The final portion of the workout is for cardio. Pick your non-treadmill pleasure (exercise bike, elliptical, etc. and break a sweat for 12 minutes. As with jogging, you will increase your minutes performed of this exercise by one minute every four week cycle until you have capped out at 20 minutes.
This workout will sneak up on you. You may not sweat much, but your chest and triceps should feel flush, tight, numb and good. If you do the workout early in the day, the fatigue may hit you by mid-day and you will crave a good nap! The next day, you should feel sore in all the right spots, yet you should not be hurting. This is a long road to travel and it is not the intention of Diesel Dad to burn you out this early.
The next post will be Day Two of the weekly workout. Day One totaled 90 minutes. Day Two will be 45 minutes, Day Three 60 minutes, Day Four 75 minutes for a total commitment of 5 hours. For the remainder of the first four week cycle, your weekly commitment will drop to 4 hours as you do not have to do this Day 1 – Week 1 workout again until Phase 2.
