photo by bodog
Frequently Asked Questions About the Sample Workout
If you signed up to receive your three free gifts (over on the right) you've already read through the What Women Want Workout sample an may be eager to get into the gym to try it. This FAQ will clear up a few questions you may have. Also, if you have any more questions regarding any of the PDFs, please post them below in the comments!
How many days per week should I do the WWWW sample?
The sample workout is actually a glimpse into some new things I've been experimenting with. So, it's less of a program and more of a "try and see if you like the ideas behind it" stand-alone workout.
If you want a new challenge and would like to follow it, I'd recommend setting up your week like this:
Monday – Upper Body
Tuesday- Lower Body
Wednesday- Off
Thursday – Total Body weight workout
Friday – Total Body bodyweight conditioning workout
Saturday – Off
Sunday – Off
What should I do on the total body weight workout and bodyweight conditioning workout?
I'd do something like this:
Total Body Weight Day
A Sumo Deadlift – 3x5
B1 Barbell Military Press – 3x8
B2 Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat – 3x8
C1 Dumbbell Chest Fly – 3x8
C2 Face Pull – 3x8
Free Time – 10 minutes of arm exercises. Whatever you like.
Total Body Bodyweight Conditioning Workout
Vertical Jumps 1x5
Plyometric push-ups 1x5
Jump squat 1x5
Spiderman push-up 1x5
Reverse Lunge 1x5 each leg
Regular push-up 1x5
Time yourself. Take that number and add 30 seconds. Rest that amount of time. Repeat four more times.
What do you mean by 3RM or 5RM?
3RM stands for your three-rep max, or the maximum amount of weight you can lift on that exercise with good form and a feeling of speed.
What do you mean by max reps?
Whenever you hit your RM for that particular exercise, simply reduce the weight by 20 percent and do as many reps as you can with good form.
Got any other questions for me? Let me know in the comments!
Posted Nov 12, 2009 by Nate Green.
This entry is filed under workout sample and workout.
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Comments for This Entry
Nate my man,
This is perfect. Exactly what I was looking for. I was worried about there being no direct shoulder work in the sample, (seeing as it is one of my weaknesses) and I see it now on the full body day. This reminds me of an article I read on TMuscle by Eric Cressey "The Regular Guy Off-Season Strength Program." Thanks for the clear-up. I am gonna finish out this week with the Lower body day, and I will program this all together for the start of next week.
P.S. I believe I got the "Ramping" concept down and I had one of the best workouts I have had in a while today. I felt like an animal.
-Chad
Glad to hear it Chad.
I'm toying around with specialization phases and specific routines for shoulders and other "showpiece" muscle groups to really make them pop. Coming up with some very cool stuff.
-Nate
I can't wait to see what you come up with Nate. I'm always up to trying something new.
Any tips on the hip thrusts I will be doing tomorrow? It's a new exercise for me to be doing with a loaded barbell..I am used to doing them with a swiss ball like in BFS.
-Chad
This is gonna be excellent. I was gonna ask pretty much what you just answered when I got home today, and here it is. I"m gonna give this a go in the next couple weeks. Can't wait for the BFS Sequel :)
Damn, the timing of this is priceless.
I've been having to do mostly upper body workouts lately, the only lower body stuff I have been able to do is very lite rehab stuff due to patella tendonitis.
I'm all healed up now with no pain for 4-5 weeks and my stint of doing upper body workouts has convinced me NEVER to do a bodypart split again.
So I was thinking... Upper Body/Lower Body Split or total body?
Your program combines them both, I am gonna give it a go!!
Oh and you spelt Wednesday wrong ;)
Thanks Daniel. :)
-Nate
Nate, is that a 100 lb plate your doing chin ups with in the flickr photos?
I have a question about the exercises and the order. Are you supposed to do B1 and then go directly into B2, then rest? Or is that just how you labeled them?
@ Ty
Nah, it's just a 45-pound plate. I can do a 100-pound one for three reps, though.
@ Leo
Do B1, rest as much as you need, then do B2.
-Nate
Nice!
The workout is awesome. I'm starting your winter program next week, so I may as well wack out this today :)
So good to get a workout for free without the title 'Get massive biceps the girls will dig with only 1 minute of no work'. It's refreshing!
You're an absolute legend Nate!
@Nate
One question sorry,
I'm going to be doing your winter program with ABCD in one week. Would it be beneficial to add in your bodyweight conditioning workout one day of the week in there, or is that overkill?
Thanks in advance,
Chris.
Thanks Nate for providing a follow-up on the WWWW example.
Now, would this program be appropriate for someone who has completed the BFS? If so, perhaps I could try this one out after I'm done with the entire BFS program sometimes in February.
Lastly, for how many weeks would you suggest we follow the WWWW program before moving onto something else?
Nate,
Solid weekly split man.
Not trying to take anything away from it, but it is similar to what I am currently doing. Thought I would toss my current split incase anyone wanted to experiement with it using your workout sample.
Monday- Full Body
Tuesday- OFF
Wednesday- Lower Body
Thursday - Upper Body
Friday - OFF
Saturday - Strongman Events & Conditioning Day
Sunday- OFF
Wow, did the upperbody workout yesterday, I can really feel it today!
Frickin' awesome man!! It was great, cos it felt really natural. Good to not have a timer for rest periods, so it just felt almost insinctful. Was a great workout, damn I can feel it today!
Thanks a bunch for that!
Hey Nate!
I'm new to your blog, and I just read about your sample workouts above. Do you recommend a maximum time for the workouts? With my current workout plan I try to do as little rest as possible and stay below 60min.
@ Chris
Just stick with the ABCD for now.
@ Johnathan
Yep, this would be great to do after BFS. I'd follow it for 4-6 weeks.
@ Chase
I like that split!
@ Carsten
Welcome to the blog, man. Thanks for checking it out! Yeah, my workouts usually last 45 - 60 minutes, although sometimes I get up to 75 minutes. (But that's with extra mobility stuff added in.)
Thanks for all the comments guys!
-Nate
Will start with this tomorrow, can't wait..
Nate, would you mind sharing some of your mobility stuff?
Hey Nate and anyone else interested; I know this is kinda off topic from the post but a good book I justed finished reading that I though you might enjoy called "Who Dares Wins" by former Green Beret and all around badass Bob Mayer. I would rank it up there with "The 10 hour work week".
-David
hey Nate, Love your articles. ive got a question and possibly a dumb one lol.
In this split could I add an extra 'arm day' sense Im lacking on the arms perhaps on the saturday? and with the body weight conditioning would there be any benefit in terms of muscle growth and aesthetics if I did it 3x a week right before my last meal and bed?
Im not trying to change your split you just got my brain thinking haha thx
Hey Billy,
No such thing as a dumb question, man!
Here's what you could do:
Do the "conditioning" workout twice per week (on non-weight training days) and add a few sets of arms after.
Make sure to pick different exercises on both of your arm days!
-Nate
This is a killer workout. should work great for since im traveling on the road staying in hotels with pathetic gyms all the time. Thanks Nate!
Thanks for the note, Matt! Yeah, you can really do the bodyweight circuit anywhere.
-Nate
Here is an unrelated question ( well, not entirely, i want women to want me as well).
I'm a 45 year old man who hasn't been in a gym in 10 years. I just joined the local boxing gym and have been going for a couple of weeks. I love it! I even really get off on the painful moments. I'm fine with the cardio ( 30 minutes on the eliptical) but , I'm kinda lost with the free weights. I know a bunch of dumbell moves and how all the machines work , I'm just unsure about a truly efficient work out and how often to do it. There seems to be a lot of information for guys to maximize their existing work outs and that's great. I'm a middle aged guy with a neglected body that just wants to get it together.
I'm about 6 feet 2, 250lbs. No heart issues , some slight knee problems (thus the eliptical, although i did some lunges the other day and that was ok).
Sorry about the tangent from this topic, any thoughts you have would be a gift.
Hey Andrew,
If you haven't already, pick up Built for Show and start with the Fall workout. Sure, the hook is to "look good enough to hook up", but I guarantee you'll see some great fat-loss, muscle growth, and even some increased endurance by following an actual plan.
-Nate
Nate, any particular reason you included the barbell glute bridge ? I personally get all the glute activation I need from deads,squats,lunges,etc. I keep seeing this exercise brought up lately, yet I haven't seen anybody actually do it yet. It may be a great exercise for those who trouble getting their glutes to fire in traditional exercises, but what do you think would be an exercise to replace it in this program? Was thinking snatch grip deads possible. Only issue could be pulling heavy sumo style only 3 days later....
Blogs looking great recently, really enjoying the more frequent updates.
@ Jared
Thanks for the note. Honestly, most guy I've trained don't get enough glute activation from those movements (not at first, at least).
Yep, I'd recommend a snatch-grip deadlift. :)
Cheers,
-Nate
Holy hell,
For my total body conditioning workout I did 10x40 yard sprints/45 minutes of rock climbing.
Highly suggest it as a change of pace workout guys.
Nate,
You say to work up to your 5RM by increasing weight by 5-10 lbs/set. Ideally, how many sets do you suggest us to perform until reaching our 5RM? How many reps should we do on these ramping, pre-5RM sets?
Hey Tim,
I do, on average, around 6-8 sets. Sometimes more if I'm feeling very strong and can keep pushing. Sometimes less if I'm not "feeling" it.
Also, you should be doing 5 reps on all of your ramping sets. Think of it as "greasing the groove" and preparing your body to lift the heaviest amount of weight, as fast as you can, with good form.
-Nate
Nate,
I've been personally experimenting with upper / lower / full body splits and love the results I'm getting. It allows me to get at least 3 workouts (weight training) in a week at make sure I'm hitting all the major muscle groups without over training.
I'll try a week of this routine, seems fun!
Chris Cannon
I really like your blog, the theme is good and the info you provide is really impressive, I am going to come back to check on the e info you put up, best of luck and keep up the good work.
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