Ditch the treadmill and steady state cardio and check this out. Cardio will not help you to drop body fat. Without strength training, your weight-loss efforts will not be very effective and produce results. If you want to feel strong and build lean muscle then lifting weights is the name of the game.
To help kickstart your strength training I have created the Give Me Five Challenge Program. For a start we'll first break down the basics. And they're simple enough: This is a 90-day challenge that involves five strength exercises. That's right, only five. With those five moves, you can improve your strength that will help you change your body, change your health, and change your self-confidence. I’ve selected one of the most fundamental and effective strength-training exercises so that you can become stronger. Next month, I’ll give you new program featuring three workouts per week. Each of the strength workouts will only include the five fundamental strength exercises. On the off days feel free to go for a run, grab the bike, do a yoga class, play sport or whatever you feel like. The only goal of this challenge is to complete all three strength workouts every week!
Now, you're ready to get going!
Here's a printable infographic of the five fundamental exercises. Below it, you'll find how often you should be doing the exercises and also step-by-step instructions for each one.
GIVE ME FIVE CHALLENGE, PART 1: SEPTEMBER 1 - OCTOBER 1 You'll be doing straight sets. That means you will complete one set of an exercise - for example the dumbbell deadlift - you'll rest for the designated time, and then you'll complete a second set of the dumbbell deadlift, etc. This month, you’ll complete five sets of all exercises with 30 seconds of rest in between all sets.
It’s important to allow time for rest and recovery in between the workouts. Here is an example for a good weekly schedule for this kind of program:
Monday: Workout A Wednesday: Workout B Friday: Workout C
A few more things... In order to make sure you make improvements, you need to challenge yourself and and work a little more than you are used to. That being said, choose weights that should be heavy enough that you can't do me than the designated reps for that exercise while maintaining a good form. For example if you use 12 lbs dumbbells for chest press and you can do more than 12 reps that means it's time to increase the load and grab set of 15 lbs. Stay tuned for next month, when I will give you new program design! You’ll stick with the same five moves, but I’ll provide you with a new protocol. Are you ready to get started? Let’s do this.
Give Five and GET STRONG! Coach Kosta P.S. In our Chicago Fit Performance transformation programs we do all of this exercises and much more. If you’d like to work with us then fill out the application for a STRATEGY SESSION and we’ll get in contact with you and let you know what to do next.
