All too often people feel that they need all sorts of fancy equipment and elaborate programming in order to get the types of results that they want - and for most guys that's to build some muscle and shed some body fat. While nutrition certainly plays a very important role, I just don't think that most people work hard enough to get what they want. They dilly daddle through workouts, latest workout of the month from muscle and fiction in hand and all, only to see the same person in the mirror week after week month after month.
Did you know that the definition of a crazy person is to the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result? Yup, i'd say about 90% of the people going to a gym are in the "crazy" category - doing the same old workouts, the same old "cardio routines", trying the same old fad diets, and never seeing a change in their strength or overall fitness. Well, people, its time for a CHANGE! But in order to change, we gotta go back to training in a more primitive manner - not worrying about all the silly details that most muscle rags will tell you to stress over. When it comes to hardcore fitness and building real, every day strength, the bare bone basics will do a body good.
While I love training with barbells, kettlebells, sandbags, and the like, this article is more of a challenge than just a workout routine. I challenge that you can get in a kick ass workout using just ONE moderately heavy dumbbell (or adjustable dumbbell, preferably!). Concentration curls and tricep kickbacks need not apply here, because we are going to be using explosive total body movements to strengthen our entire body and send our metabolisms into overload!
First off, because we only have one dumbbell, we are going to be doing everything one handed. By working our body one side at a time, we're forcing our stabilizers to work super hard while fixing any left to right imbalances that we might have.
Secondly, this workout can be done ANYWHERE and I highly reccomend taking your dumbbell outside - maybe to your backyard or maybe to a park . Simply put, there is nothing more rejuvenating than training outside - good for the body and soul.
Ok, here's the session - as always we are going to do a brief warm up, making sure to warm up not just our body, but to get our mind prepped for what's ahead. Its important to train with focus and to train with intent!
The Warm Up
1. Push Up Series
- regular push ups x 6
- t-push ups x 6 (3 each side)
- hindu push ups x 6
2. Squat/Lunge Series
- regular bodyweight squats x 12
- lateral squats x 6 each side
- reverse lunges x 6 each side
3. Thrust/Frog Thrust Series
1. Regular Thrusts (both feet to outside of hands) x 6
2. Frog Thrusts (both feet to outside of hands) x 6
3. Alt. Thrusts x 6 (3 of each)
a1) Dumbbell Snatch 5x5
Do 5 snatches with your left, switch hands, then 5 snatches with your right. When doing these, make Sure you are pushing your butt back and keep your weight on your heels as you lower the dumbbell back down. Keep your arms as straight as possible for as long as possible then JUMP! and slam your heels on the ground.
a2) Dumbbell Push Jerk 5x5
Immediately after your set of snatches, perform dumbbell push jerks - dip and drive with your weight on your heels and be sure to catch the weight with your knees slightly bent. PUNCH the weight through the sky!
Rest for 60-90 seconds after each super set, and be sure to add weight as often as possible. This is a brief total body session, but you are hitting every major muscle group in your body. Finish off with some weighted dips and chins if you want some extra upper body work, but if you're going heavy with this, you'll find wanting to do anything else afterward pretty difficult. Good luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment