Weightlifting

Workout 1

• • Manual neck resistance 5 reps, 2 sets 
  • Turkish get-up 3 sets, 5reps, each side 
  • 3 sets: (20 pull-ups, 30 pushups, 20 calf raises, 15 dips)
  • I alternated these two exercises for a total of 3 sets × 5 reps for each. I took two minutes between all sets and therefore had at least four minutes between the same exercise (e.g. dumbbell [DB] press, wait two minutes, row, wait two minutes, DB press, etc.):
    1. Iso-lateral dumbbell incline bench press
    2. “Yates” bent rows with EZ bar (palms-up grip and bent at the waist about 20–30 degrees) 
  • Reverse “drag” curls using a thick bar twice the diameter of a standard Olympic bar: 2 sets of 6 reps, three minutes rest between sets
  • plank 30-90sec each left, right, front one set

Workout 2

• • Manual neck resistance 5 reps, 2 sets
  • Turkish get-up 3 sets, 5reps, each side
  • 3 sets: (20 pull-ups, 30 pushups, 20 calf raises, 15 dips)
  • High-rep kettlebell (53 pounds) swings to 75-rep minimum, some guidelines:
    1. Stand with your feet 6–12 inches outside of shoulder width on either side, each foot pointed outward about 30 degrees. If toes pointed straight ahead were 12:00 on a clock face, your left foot would point at 10:00 or 11:00, and your right would point at 1:00 or 2:00.
    2. Keep your shoulders pulled back (retracted) and down to avoid rounding your back.
    3. The lowering movement (backswing) is a sitting-back-on-a-chair movement, not a squatting-down movement.
    4. Do not let your shoulders go in front of your knees at any point.
    5. Imagine pinching a penny between your butt cheeks when you pop your hips forward. This should be a forceful pop, and it should be impossible to contract your glutes more.
  • Slow myotatic crunch with max weight x 12–15 reps
  • Single-arm kettlebell swings to 25 minimum reps on each side
  • The Cat Vomit Exercise 8-12sec, 10 reps, 1 set

Every week you should be increasing the weight on each of the exercises with dumbbells/kettlebells from both workouts. The calisthenics exercises should be done at your own pace because you may not be able to perform the numbers given or you can perform even more.

Avoid any anti-inflammatory activities like cold showers right after training as they will hinder your progress. Ideally, do them before a workout or a couple of hours after working out.

Here are the links to stretch routines:

• • for mobility
  • for posture
  • for high kick flexibility
  • for anterior pelvic tilt
  • for lower back (Andrew Huberman’s video on lower back)
  • for elbow pain (tendonitis)
  • for pelvic floor health:
    1. half-kneeling hip flexor stretch
    2. child’s pose pelvic floor stretch
    3. happy baby pelvic floor stretch
    4. lying down groin stretch
    5. supine lying glute stretch
    6. Kegels (4 sets of 10 reps)

Measurements

At the end of every week, perform simple measurements to determine your body fat, weight, and overall progress. This way you will have a clear mathematical approach to tracking progress. 

• • both upper arms (mid-bicep)
  • waist (horizontal at navel)
  • hips (at the widest point below the waist)
  • both legs (mid-thigh)
  • body fat
  • neck

As a side note, track all lifts and runs for every workout. All of this will come a long way, especially when you feel uncertain about your results. You will always be able to pull out your previous measurements and see clear improvement.

Everything about running

Unlike correct technique, this other quality actually matters to performance. The more relaxed a runner’s stride is, the more resistant that runner is to fatigue. Whereas good running form can be taught, relaxed smooth ease is self-taught, or rather self-learned, emerging naturally through the normal fitness-building process. The ultimate mark of skillful running is the ability to run with minimal mental effort.

To practice 80/20 running effectively, you need to actively monitor and control your intensity throughout every run. A simple do-it-yourself method of determining the lactate threshold heart rate is the talk test. The lactate threshold heart rate is associated with the fastest running pace at which a runner is able to talk comfortably.

While wearing a heart rate monitor, start jogging at a slow, steady pace. After one minute, count upward from 120 to 125 and note your heart rate. Continue in this fashion until talking is slightly uncomfortable. Note your pace at the previous speed when speaking was comfortable or sort of comfortable. Your heart rate at that pace is your current lactate threshold heart rate. Comfortable in this context does not mean that you are able to talk without feeling any sense of dyspnea, or oxygen deficit, but the feeling should be quite mild. Here’s a good rule of thumb: If your breathing returns to its pre-talking rhythm by the third breath after you finish speaking, then you were able to talk comfortably.

You’ve probably already observed that the five zones are not perfectly contiguous. The top end of Zone 2 is 89 percent of the lactate threshold heart rate and the bottom end of Zone 3 is 96 percent of the lactate threshold heart rate. This buffer exists to ensure that your low-intensity efforts don’t ride the fence between low and moderate intensity. On the other side, there is a small gap between the top end of Zone 3 and the low end of Zone 4. This gap exists because 101 percent of the lactate threshold heart rate is just a bit too slow for the types of runs that are normally used to target Zone 4.

• • Zone 1 is appropriate for warm-ups, cool-downs, recovery periods between high-intensity intervals, and recovery runs.
  • Zone 2 is targeted in what I call foundation runs (which most other coaches call easy runs) and long runs.
  • Zone 3 is targeted in tempo runs, cruise intervals, and fast finish runs.
  • Zone 4 is typically targeted in high-intensity interval workouts featuring longer intervals (two to eight minutes).
  • Zone 5 is appropriate for high-intensity runs featuring shorter intervals (thirty to ninety seconds), hill repetition runs, and more intense speed-play runs.

Note that your lactate threshold heart rate will change somewhat as your fitness level changes, rising slightly as you get fitter and dropping a bit if you should ever lose fitness. Therefore it is necessary to repeat whichever test you use to determine your lactate threshold heart rate and recalculate your heart rate zones periodically to keep them current.

The three runs that we will be using are:

• • A foundation run is a steady, low-intensity run of short to moderate duration. It begins with a warm-up in Zone 1, then moves to Zone 2 for a while, and concludes with a cool-down back in Zone 1. Foundation runs are the bread and butter of effective 80/20 training.
  • A long run is simply an extended foundation run that is measured in distance instead of time.
  • A long interval run with added zone 3 and zone 4 throughout the run.

I personally do 5km for the foundation runs and 10km for the long runs, but feel free to increase the distances as you progress. Note the fact that you can also run on time meaning instead of having a set distance in mind, you run for a set amount of time.

Make sure to follow the heart rate thresholds for each type of run you do. That is the most important part because if you spend too much time above the lactate threshold, you will become too sore for tomorrow’s workout. Also, feel free to increase or decrease the amount of workouts or runs per week. 

This is an example of the workout week that I believe to be optimal. It takes no more than 1 hour five times a week. That includes the stretching, and most days it takes even less than that.

Last thing before we move on. Consider buying the O2 Trainer. Click the link to find out what it is used for and why it would help you in building endurance and a healthy body. It is a little bit on the expensive side, but if you aren’t ready to invest 60$, there are plenty of alternatives on Amazon that cost only 5$. The only real difference is in the brand and some minor unimportant details.

Martial Arts

An optional substitute for two foundation runs on Tuesday and Wednesday is Muay Thai + Jiu Jitsu. If you have the means to do so, it would be best to do an hour of light sparing and pad work for Muay Thai and then an hour of rolling and technique practice for Jiu Jitsu on both days. This way you will get the required cardio through martial arts, plus the added benefits of learning a crucial skill and having fun along the way. You can learn more about this in my Fundamental Skills post.

A big disclaimer is that you should first get in good enough shape before you start thinking about martial arts. If you can’t run for 20km, do 20 pullups and 50 pushups at once, don’t focus on anything other than the above-mentioned workout routine. 

For complete beginners, dedicate at least 1 whole year to weightlifting and running, before you look to move onto martial arts.

Barefoot shoes

Watch the video below for the main reasons why you should start wearing barefoot shoes. This is not a must by any means, but it will certainly improve your physical health and it isn’t too difficult to adopt. You don’t need to go purely barefoot, but you can implement them into your daily life. Two good places you could start wearing them are gyms and parks.

If you are interested in buying barefoot shoes, make sure to check out Vivobarefoot, as they have the best-looking barefoot shoes and the biggest variety of options to cover all your needs, from hiking to special occasions.