Let’s face it.
You’re busy.
And you have very little time to spend debating what you should do in the gym or what you should be eating.
So I’m going to make it easy for you.
First, let’s cover your workouts. You’re going to train 3-4 days per week and you’re going to get in and out of the gym in 45-60 minutes. This helps to keep your testosterone levels high and allows you to maintain maximum focus throughout.
You’re always going to choose big, compound exercises for each body part. Starting from the top down you will do the following movements:
Traps- Deadlift, snatch, high pull or clean.
Shoulders- Dumbbell or barbell military presses or handstand pushups.
Chest- Jungle Gym XT pushups , ring dips, flat or incline dumbbell presses, 15-30 degree barbell incline presses.
Lats & Upper/ Mid Back- All variations of chin ups, inverted rows and 1 arm dumbbell rows.
Biceps- Standing hammer or dumbbell curls.
Triceps- Dips, close grip bench presses and close grip pushups.
Lower Back, Glutes and Hamstrings- More deadlift variations, kettlebell swings, glute ham raises, barbell hip thrusts.
Quads- Squats (goblet, front, back, safety bar, single leg, pistol, split) and sled drags.
Simple, right?
No machines, nothing complicated.
Don’t waste time searching for 739 other fancy exercises that won’t work any better than what I just listed.
Eventually when you have more time and have made some very solid, impressive gains we can expand the list a bit. But for now stick to the list above and get brutally strong on those movements.
Unless you can turn heads with the amount of weight you can use on those exercises you don’t need anything else.
What About Conditioning?
Your head is probably spinning from all the cardio recommendations you read about regularly. So let’s cut through the junk and simplify it.
You’re going to do hill sprints.
That’s it.
That simple.
Twice a week to start, for a total of 15-20 minutes. Over time you can work up to 30 minutes and add an extra day if you want.
Why hill sprints?
Well first of all because it’s that’s what Walter Payton did and we should all try to emulate “Sweetness.”
Secondly, it’s summer and you should get off the bike or treadmill and get outside more often. And mainly because there is nothing any simpler or more effective that you can do.
Sprints on flat ground are great but require some technique and a long warm up; something which people may not always have time for. Sprints with a sled or Prowler are awesome but not everyone has one.
Everyone can find a hill somewhere. And don’t worry about the distance. If your hill is only 30 yards you will do 30 yard hill sprints with as little rest as needed for 15-20 minutes.
Over time you will simply try to do more sprints and decrease your rest periods. If your hill is 100 yards, then you sprint 100 yards, or as far up the hill as you can get.
Don’t over think it.
That’s a one way ticket to Keyboard Warriorsville, a place where the population is small, fat and weak.
How About Diet?
Can anyone really tell me they don’t know that Big Mac’s and candy aren’t healthy?
You know what’s healthy.
You just have to commit to eating those foods.
Today I want you to throw out everything in your house that comes in a bag or a box. Straight to the garbage. Now!
You’ll only eat foods that a caveman would have been able to eat. Organic grass fed meats, wild caught fish, fertile eggs, fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds. That’s it.
If you’re under 15% bodyfat throw in some sweet potatoes or rice post workout. One small serving if you’re trying to get leaner, a couple if you’re trying to gain size.
Its summer time and everyone wants to look good with their shirt off. Trust me, nobody’s getting fat on that diet.
See how easy that was?
Get started today and keep me posted on your progress.
07. Jul, 2009
at 6:01 am #
Hey Jason,
Just wondering; I currently do Muay Thai twice a week, which is a full contact martial art… I always come out of the gym dripping with sweat because of it. Can I just count that as a cardio work out (same as the hill sprints)?
And another thing; how should I determine what weights to start off with for all those exercises?
Cheers
16. Jul, 2009
at 7:25 pm #
–Pulled a muscle seriously on hill sprints last week, but my bad. There is a gentle swoop the first 30 yards and then it gets seriously steep. I was stopped dead in my tracks like I’d been shot about 6 paces into the 6th attempt.
So .. .. I’ll warm up a bit more when I get back to it. I’ll move up and start at the steepest part of the hill. Also, I’ll do some single-leg dead lifts with a medicine ball to stretch out the hams. –Love the idea of getting back out again (I was a runner a long while back before taking up lifting). Hey, please note the May 2009 issue of Men’s Journal. NASA (kind of late to the game) is just discovering what Jason is saying: heavy, basic lifts in the 4-8 range, explosive moves and sprints on off days. All the Jason!
03. Aug, 2009
at 9:44 pm #
Gary,
Thanks for the comments. Be sure you are eating an anti inflammatory diet and taking an ample amount of fish oil.
Jack,
Yes, that is sufficient conditioning. You should pick a weight that you can do to near failure.
Jon,
Science always catches up with in-the-trenches-experience years and years later. Thanks for sharing.
04. Aug, 2009
at 5:08 pm #
Great blog, graet info!!!! who is the hottt ass chick in the pic? WHOA!!!!
07. Dec, 2009
at 8:03 pm #
Jason,
Thanks for all the info and tips you provide on your site. I have been reading the site for the past few years and I’ve made pretty good improvements in the weight room. I was a basketball and football player in high school and graduated around 185-190 lbs at 6’2, now im 230 at around 12% bodyfat and even more athletic than I was back then. I’ve just recently started to dedicate myself even more to strength training (quit drinking on the wknds) and I’ve gone from a 275lb deadlift to a 415 max this past year, bench is about 315-325, and squat is around 400lbs. I’m going back to college and ive decided I want to walk-on and play football at rutgers. I just moved to jersey a few weeks ago with my gf from DC and think I should come lift at your place sometime in the near future! Thanks for sharing all your knowledge!
Tim
03. Feb, 2010
at 3:38 pm #
Good post Jason you don’t know how many people i see wasting away their time in the gym on leg presses and leg curls while the squat rack next to me is always empty
16. Feb, 2010
at 11:55 am #
I didnt see farmers walk in there. I like the looks of “what the hell is he doing” when I do this at the gym.
16. Mar, 2010
at 1:01 pm #
I’ve always been a thin 6’3″. Last year I took the biggest emotional beating of my life. Father died Dec 08. Son died Dec 09. We honored both of them – but my body and mind came through battered and weakened. I needed to get strong – mentally and physically. I found your posts. Your focus and lack of hype cut through the noise. That was 6 weeks ago. Since then I’ve hit the gym and the supermarket in a new way, and put on 10 lbs. of vegan muscle. Bigger deal is I’ve found some peace again through training smart, hard, and simple.
Thanks,
Adam
28. May, 2010
at 4:20 pm #
Adam,
your loss is heartbreaking. May you find peace and strength.
02. Aug, 2010
at 2:13 pm #
What is your opiniong about treadmill hill sprinting? Is it effective as outside hill spriting?
Thank you
Iris
11. Aug, 2010
at 12:41 pm #
And people will STILL find a way to fuck this up. Guaranteed.
11. Aug, 2010
at 2:44 pm #
Great stuff as always Jason! Straight forward,basic and so true Cut the finesse shit,do raw work and the results will come Keep it up Jay
11. Aug, 2010
at 6:24 pm #
Adam, cry me a river.
I witnessed my father get shot in the face point blank with a magnum. His brains blew out right before my eyes. I am scarred for life. Don’t talk to me about losing a loved one. I lost mine in the WORST WAY.
As far as your “vegan muscle…” You better get some meat in your diet if you don’t want your balls to recede into your stomach and if you want to raise your testosterone levels…. Stop being a pussy and eat some damn meat and stop being a whiny little bitch.
20. Oct, 2010
at 12:09 am #
How would you go about putting these in a workout. I know youra fan of upper/lower splits intermediates. Is doing squats/deadlifts on same day okay. Thanks man.
16. Dec, 2010
at 8:00 pm #
Hey Jason, what if you have lower back issues and knee problems from years of football, what would you recommend for glutes, hams and quads or overall lower body lifts?
20. Apr, 2012
at 10:18 am #
Sled work, single leg training, glute hams, glute bridges, hip thrusts, 45 degree back raise
28. Jan, 2011
at 9:44 am #
Excellent post, except nuts and seeds come in a bag.
15. Feb, 2011
at 12:31 am #
Great post and I have substituted my flat sprints for hill sprints. I think people think I am nuts, when they see the gulps of breath.
Will also have to add some dips to my chest and triceps routine after seeing the exercise list
10. Oct, 2011
at 1:05 pm #
Adam, good post… I feel for you. I started lifting heavy after the supposed love of my life dumped me and I was seriously sick for three weeks in a row… There’s a weird kind of comfort in the iron game, ask Henry Rollins.
17. May, 2012
at 9:22 am #
Under diet, what about adding rice as the only carb source? Not a fan?