The Gym in You: Beginners Guide To The Advanced Bodyweight Workouts

BEGINNERS GUIDE TO THE ADVANCED
BODYWEIGHT WORKOUTS

DISCLAIMER

The contest of this e-book, techniques, ideas, and any suggestions is for
informational purposes only. The application of the same is at the readers sole
discretion and risk.

Consult your physician or health care professional before performing any new
exercises or exercises technique, particularly if you are pregnant or nursing, or if you
are elderly, or if you have any chronic or recurring conditions. If at anytime you feel
sharp pain or discomfort, stop immediately.

The author or anybody else affiliated with creation and distribution of this material
disclaims any liability, personal or professional, resulting from misapplication of any
of the workout procedures described in this material.

COPYRIGHT

No part of this material may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted by any
means, without the prior written consent of the author.

Copyright 2014 Marin Njiric
TheGymInYou.com | All rights reserved

INFO

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Although most of the heavy lifting during the creation and realization of
TheGymInYou project was done by me; this material wouldnt be as nearly good if
there wasnt help from the following individuals who contributed with their skills,
enthusiasm, thoughts or simply with needed equipment at the time of need:

Milena Nestic (model); Maro Storelli & Ivan Gagro (photo shoot equipment);
Vedran Vekic (photography); Jelena Jasprica (constructive criticism)

You all have my utmost gratitude

Author

The Gym in You
Beginners Guide to the Advanced Bodyweight Workouts
I
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1
2. EXERCISES ..................................................................................................................... 4
3. THE WORKOUTS ........................................................................................................... 41
4. WORKOUT SCHEDULE .................................................................................................. 66
5. FEW WORDS ABOUT NUTRITION .................................................................................. 68
6. FEW LAST WORDS ........................................................................................................ 71

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1. INTRODUCTION
The world today is stuck between two equal forces. On one side there is a vast army of
physically unfit people. On the other side there is a deep ocean of fitness books,
workouts, must have equipment, supplements and of course couch fitness gurus (the
kind who knows it all just by sitting all day long and watching numerous workouts on the
World Wide Web). The irony is that sometimes even well experienced person in physical
training can lose their compass and drown in that ocean, let alone determent individual
who is set to change his current unfit lifestyle.
The contest of this e-book is therefore mainly intended for beginners and those with
average training experience. For those with advanced training experience you are
encouraged to stay open minded and go through described workouts. Maybe youll learn
something new or perhaps youll remember something that you have forgot.
All the workouts are based strictly on bodyweight exercises with little or almost no
additional needed equipment. Whether you follow the beginners or advanced variation of
the workouts; every workout is intense and mentally very challenging but at the same
time unique and different than previous. There will be little room for boredom in the
weeks to come.
IS THIS BOOK FOR ME?
Its a decent question that you should be asking, but the answer you already know. If by
any chance you have doubts try to answer some of these questions:
Do you want to start your journey in physical training but just dont know in which
direction to make your first step, or how?
Do you want to get rid of that back pain after a long day in the office and feel extra
good about yourself at the end of the day?
Do you want to feel physically fit and ready to accept any challenge that is thrown in
your face?
Do you want to lose that extra fat around your waist and at the same time increase
body strength and flexibility, to stand tall & strong?
Do you want to save that hard earn money instead spending it in some overpriced
Gym which is too far and almost always too crowded?
If the answer on the most of these questions is yes, than yes this book is for you like
many other advanced books on bodyweight and weighted training which are listed in the
References and Recommended Literature.

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Why not start immediately with other advanced books, why waste time on this one?
Simple because if you are on the very beginning of your journey to become physically fit,
other advanced programs will crush you in half and discourage you in your further
progress. They are meant for seasoned athletes with both body and mind strong enough
to endure and overcome the intense challenges of those workouts. Like a chain you are
strong enough as your weakest link.
Looking from another perspective, these workouts will serve you like a jumpstart to more
advanced workout programs. When the time comes youll know when you are ready to
move on. If you decide to stick with this workout program that is fine too, because almost
all the workouts are design to be competition with your biggest enemy your mind. You
will quickly discover that the body can go far more than mind allows.

.

WHY BODYWEIGHT?
The endless debate which is better and why, bodyweight vs. isolation exercises in the gym
will not be covered by this material. There are numerous books, articles and opinions on
that subject which can be easily found on World Wide Web. After all you and only you
know what is your goal, and what do you enjoy doing more. If you detest bodyweight
exercises and prefer machines in public gym than this material is absolutely not for you.
The idea of writing exclusively bodyweight workout manual for beginners came to me in a
summer of 2013 while talking with a very good and much older friend of mine. In the heat
of the discussion about overall health in this fast paced world that we live in, he confided
to me his unhappiness and regrets about the way he treated his body over the long years
of naval carrier. Two simple and very common excuses came out:
1. I didnt know how or what to exercise...
2. I didnt know where and when to exercise...
Our daily jobs often take much more from us that they tend to give back. With other home
and social duties we are left, if we are lucky, with hour or two to ourselves on the best of
days. I cant blame anyone who wants to spend that precious time relaxing with his better
half, watching a movie or enjoying a good book rather than hitting the floor hard for an
hour. Same goes for my friend. I dont blame him for not exercising after a tough day in
the engine room of a cargo ship size bigger than a football field. I do feel sorry for his
regrets, and I believe that we ought it to ourselves to take extra care of our body and stick
to the old saying: in a healthy body is a healthy mind.
Things to remember: The approach I will work out hard just to look good must be
once and for all banished and replaced with I will work out hard to feel good and
good looks will soon come along.

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The realization of the sparked idea came much sooner than expected, when another
friend lawyer trainee sought my advice on possible home workout solutions. Problem was,
after a long day at the office the body became more and more stiff and for a trainee wage
option of going to public overpriced gym was not to be mentioned. Only possible solution
left was exercising at home with little or almost none equipment. Gladly I accepted the
task given before me, and with little modifications of the workouts I usually do, the
foundations of The Gym in You bodyweight program routine were created. Soon enough
like a summer fire, the workouts spread along the friends and friends of the friends.
Different questions started to appear, and soon came the inevitable, the need for tutorial
describing the workouts or a book perhaps.
Its essential to point out that these workouts you can do almost anywhere you go. The
complete workout requires pull-up bar. But if you are stuck in hotel room, cabin room on
cargo ship or perhaps prison room for the reasons only you know, with no possibility of
doing pull-ups you can still benefit from these workouts even without pull-ups. Now, pull-
ups are hard, and just because you can benefit without doing pull-ups it is no excuse for
you to skip them if you have chance of doing them in your workout environment. Later on
it will be explained why you must do pull-ups, and a few examples of simple alternatives
for pull-ups will be presented.

Things to remember: Beware that only acceptable excuse for skipping some exercise
or complete workout is injury or illness.

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2. EXERCISES
The described exercises in this chapter are not all bodyweight exercises that exist out
there, rather the ones youll need for completing the workouts. Describing all possible
bodyweight exercises would require a decently large data base, and naturally good
amount of patience from your side as a reader to go through them all. Instead you will be
faced with modest number of simple but effective exercises which you have surly seen in
a number of action movies when our hero is doing push-ups or pull-ups like there is no
such thing like gravity. Watching and doing it are to different planets, and on your new
planet doing it there most certainly is such thing like gravity.
In every subchapter first of all will be described simpler variations of required exercise
mainly for those who cant do one repetition or set of full required exercise. If you cant do
one correct push-up or pull-up dont worry too much about it and certainly dont quit
before you even start. These, on first glance easier variations of required exercise will in
time get you strong enough for the real thing.

2.1. UPPER BODY FRONT
Mother of all chest exercises out there are good old push-ups. At some point of our life we
have all done them; in school during physical education, in sport club as a reward for bad
behavior or either for the fun of it in our back yard. Little did we know or cared how
complete and rewarding this exercise is. Push-ups in essence represent compound
exercise which attacks at the same time mainly Pectoralis major (chest), Triceps brachii
and Deltoideus anterior (shoulders).

In addition, during correct execution of push-ups, large number of core and even leg
muscles are activated. In short, correct form of push-ups requires all body to work as one
unit. Its no surprise that push-ups were and still are one of the fundamental exercises of
PST (Physical Screening Test) in military, police force, fire department and almost every
other similar organization where physical fitness and endurance is of essence.
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SIMPLER VARIATIONS
1. INCLINE PUSH-UPS
Incline push-ups you can do almost anywhere where you have safe and solid object to
withstand you. For example in a doorway, on the edge of the bed, on your living room
table, on the bathtub, the list can go on. One thing is in common regardless of where you
chose to do them; you must always have strong friction between the ball of your feet or
shoes with floor. If you cant accomplish that, immediately move to the next simpler
variation of push-ups, no reason to risk falling down face first.
Assume standard starting push-up position. Palms should be placed slightly wider than a
shoulder width and firmly placed on the solid object that you are using.
In one steady controllable movement lower yourself to lower push-up position, just inch
above the chosen object. Dont forget to inhale while lowering self down.

From lower position exert yourself back to starting position until your arms are fully
extended. Dont forget to exhale while pushing yourself up, counting aloud does the trick.
Important note:
Keep you back straight and in line with the legs the whole time, dont raise your butt. To
achieve this keep the muscles of your core and buttocks slightly tight. Look slightly
forward the whole time.

Things to remember: Always exhale during hardest phase of exercise and inhale
during easier phase. For example while doing push-ups or pull-ups, exhale while
pushing or pulling and inhale while moving to lower position of the exercise. Useful
tip is to count laud during repetitions, that way you must exhale while saying the
number.

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2. KNEES PUSH-UPS
Second simpler variation requires only enough space on the floor and you are good to go.
For you comfort it would be very useful to use towel, or even better, a small cushion
between the knees and the floor.
Kneel down on the floor and assume standard starting push-up position. Palms should be
placed slightly wider than a shoulder width and firmly placed on the floor.
above ground. Again, dont forget to inhale while lowering self down.

extended. Again, exhale while pushing yourself up, counting aloud if you want and look
slightly forward the whole time.
Important note:
Keep you back straight and in line with the hamstring the whole time, dont raise your
butt. To achieve this keep the muscles of your core and buttocks slightly tight.

TIPS FOR GETTING BETTER
While doing simpler or normal variation of push-ups, when you are in the lower
position with your chest just inch above ground, try to hold that position for 3 5
seconds before extending your arms and pushing yourself in upper starting position.
These few on the first glance meaningless seconds will soon become few very intense
seconds as you work your way through whole set of push-ups.

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Try to hold three or four times plank with your arms fully extended upper push-up
position, for longer periods of time for instance 30 seconds up to 1 minute with short
rest between. This will improve strength in your arms, shoulder and core. During this
hold when your core and whole body begins to tremble try to hold just for 10 second
more before rest break.

NORMAL VARIATIONS
1. REGULAR PUSH-UPS
Assume standard starting push-up position. Palms should be placed slightly wider than a
shoulder width and firmly placed on the floor.
above ground. Inhale while lowering self down.

extended. Exhale while pushing yourself up.
Important note:
Back must be kept straight and in one line with butt and legs, eyes looking slightly
forward.

Things to remember: Your new motto is something is always better than nothing. If
you cant do regular push-up or pull-up, use easier variations of these exercises but
do not skip them entirely!

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2. WIDE PUSH-UPS
Much like regular push-ups only with palms placed much wider than shoulder width, but
then again not too much wider. Do not overdo it. So, assume standard starting push-up
position with wider palms stance.


3. ELEVATED FEET PUSH-UPS
Slightly harder variation than regular push-ups, the elevated feet push-ups tend to attack
little more shoulders. Place your feet on some elevated solid object, height should be
between 8 16 inches (20 40 centimeters). The higher it is the harder it gets, but
again dont overdo it. Too much height will influence the proper technique significantly
and youll accomplish nothing but a big waste of time.
After placing your feet on object, assume standard starting push-up position. Palms can
be placed in line with shoulders or slightly wider. In this variation its up to you to find the
most comfortable zone.


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Important note:
Do not let your butt fall down during the reverse step, pushing yourself up with butt down
is cheating and you are selling yourself short if you are thinking that you have made
progress in elevated push-ups.

4. TRIANGLE PUSH-UPS
This variation of push-ups attacks the triceps significantly more than any other variation.
If you feel sharp pain in your shoulders during this variation stop immediately. By placing
your palms slightly wider than required you will avoid shoulder problems and still benefit
from this push-up variation. In time as you get more flexible and stronger you will
completely utilize this exercise.

Start by assuming standard starting push-up position with palms forming the described
triangle. Your feet must be spread considerably for better balance, find the stance in
which you feel most comfortable and balanced.
In one steady controllable movement lower yourself to lower push-up position, with your
chest just inch above the fingers of your hands. Inhale while lowering self down.

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5. DIVE BOMBER PUSH-UP
The most intense and most rewarding push-up that exists is a dive bomber push-up.
Naturally to receive any gifts from this variation, proper technique is crucial. This variation
puts massive amount of stress on your arms and shoulders and less on your chest. After
just a few repetitions you will quickly experience fatigue in mentioned parts. This makes
dive bomber perfect finisher for your push-up workout, because it will squeeze out last
drops of juice from your chest and shoulders.
Assume the starting position for dive bomber push-up like its shown on picture. Palms
should be placed around shoulder width, legs spread but again not too much. Find that
comfortable zone like in a triangle push-up. Starting position looks kind awkward but it is
essential for proper technique.
In one steady controllable movement dive with your face first to the ground. Be careful
not to bring your face too close to the ground. Following the face should be chest, just
inch above the ground. Without breaking the momentum of movement push yourself
forward and up. This must be done in one continuous movement, your face and chest
should be following parabolic curve. Dont forget to exhale during this movement.

From forward position you need to come back to starting position the same way you got
there. Following the parabolic curve backward, lower you chest first just inch above the
ground and without breaking the momentum of movement push yourself up to awkward
starting position. Dont forget to inhale during second step.
Important note:
During the first step, try not to fall down with your chest vertically to the ground, and then
push yourself forward and up. You really need to follow the presented curve. Yes, this
variation of push-up requires some flexibility and most of all patience at the beginning.
Dont feel frustrated or disappointed if you dont make it at first, nobody does. After a
while you will get the grip for it, but be consistent and never quit.

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6. BURPEES
Burpees represent whole body type of exercise rather than strictly upper body front. Its
most demanding and intense exercise youll be faced in a few of following workouts.
Lucky you. From a very simplified point of view, burpees consist of two basic movements:
push-up and squat jump. Now, how hard can it be? The catch is, naturally, in the speed of
execution of the two combined movements. Doing 8 repetitions of burpees in two
minutes isnt something to be proud of. You should really aim for thirty seconds or much
less.
Assume the starting position for burpee, basically just stand relaxed as if you are waiting
for something good to happen soon.
From standing position quickly drop down in squat position. In one combined movement
get from squat position to a starting push-up position. To achieve this from squat position
place the palms of your hands on the floor and in the same time thrust your legs all the
way back and land with your feet fingers on the floor.

Now when you are in the well known starting push-up position do one push-up.

If you are beginner do this exercise like this three separated steps, but in time you should
advance and try to do first step and middle step at the same time. The idea is to achieve
of push-up (get down to lower push-up position) while your legs are still airborne.
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After you did your push-up its time to reverse your movements. From current push-up
starting position its time to jump back with your both legs to squat position. From squat
position explode upward to standing position.

In time you should advance to full jump of the floor from squat position, but in the
beginning standing up from squat position should suffice until your legs get stronger to
endure explosive jump movement.
Important note:
During this exercise you might and will experience one or more things of the following:
rapid heartbeat in your throat, lack of oxygen, sudden blackout of your vision or seeing
black spots and depending of the intensity, ultimately the vomiting felling. Yes its
completely normal and expected. If you have really low blood pressure youll be keener to
sudden vision blackouts due to the very quick change from push-up pose to standing
position, just like getting up to quickly from the bed. As for black spots and vomiting
feeling, well if you achieve this you are truly dedicated to be burpee animal and you are
not cutting yourself any slacks.

7. DIPS AND BENCH DIPS
Nothing builds shoulder and arms strength like dips. Depending on the angle of your body
during the dips you can put higher stress on your chest and shoulders or triceps and
shoulders. Only drawback is that full dips require two parallel bars to perform them.
Before describing the full bodyweight dips a simpler variation should be introduced in a
form of bench dips.

Things to remember: Burpees are ultimate test for mind; heart and stomach. No
other bodyweight exercise stress body like burpees. Practice makes it perfect; just
dont overdo it while youre at it. Lying passed out on the floor is not general idea of
this exercise.

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BENCH DIPS
Bench dips largely attack triceps muscles in your arms and in some smaller amount
shoulders. For executing this exercise all you need is bench, table or some similar solid
object which can withstand you and lastly support for your legs.
Assume starting position by placing palms of your hand on the edge of the table and your
feet on the chosen support, in this example the chair. During the starting position your
glutes should be in air, not resting comfortably on a table or bench.
Lower yourself down in a one controllable movement until your arms form 90 degrees
angle.

From lower position push yourself upward back to starting position, exhale during this
movement.
Important note:
Height of the chosen bench or a table should be high enough to prevent you from
touching the floor with your glutes. Elbows should be kept in one line during both
movements.
DIPS
As mentioned earlier, to perform full bodyweight dips you will need two parallel bars on
respectable height. Someone creative enough can try this movement using the two tall
chairs, but this solution could result in an injury. Two chairs dont provide very stable and
safe support. Best and highly recommended way to execute this exercise is on solo dip
station or on power tower.
There are divided opinions in fitness community about how much should you lower
yourself down during dips. One side claims that 90 degrees angle is maximum, other side
claims you should execute full range of motion by going all the way down.
When you came across these divided opinions, and you most certainly will, best thing to
do is to conduct your own experiment much like in squats which be mentioned later on.
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Assume the starting position by mounting two parallel bars; bend your knees so you dont
make the contact with the ground during the lower phase of the exercise.
Lower yourself down in a one controllable movement until your arms form at least 90
degrees.

From lower position push yourself upward back to starting position, exhale during this
movement.
Important note:
Keeping the body in one straight line with your eyes always looking forward or up will
activate noticeably more triceps muscles during dips. On the other hand if you execute
this exercise with a slight angle and your eyes looking down, you will shift good amount of
stress from the triceps toward the chest and shoulders.
So remember:
Eyes looking forward or up TRICEPS DIPS
Eyes looking down CHEST DIPS

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2.2. UPPER BODY BACK

Pull-up bar the most feared and avoided piece of equipment in every civilian gym in the
world.
There is literally countless number of excuses why an individual
cant or wont do pull-ups. Most popular is excuse of an individual
body-over-weight. One could not agree more. Yes it is true that
more bodyweight equals harder pull-ups but it certainly doesnt
mean no pull-ups. In the world of martial arts every heavyweight
does bodyweight pull-ups without breaking a sweat. These
individuals represent an extreme category of athletes who push
and punish their body beyond every imaginable line on daily basis,
but they also prove that you can do consecutive pull-ups even if
you have considerable more over 220 pounds (100 kilograms) of
own bodyweight.
Second most popular excuse comes from our better parts who claim women cant do pull-
ups. They certainly can and they do. There are numerous recorded evidences on web
which support this claim. This might be great chance to encourage you all the girls and
ladies not to miss out on this overlooked and underappreciated exercise. There are many
guys out there who cant do even one pull-up, and just think of the embarrassment if you
could do more pull-ups than your stronger-half. Now joking aside, it would be really
beneficial if you would do your regular dose of upper back exercises because unlike guys,
ladies upper back suffers constant stress under the weight of the front attributes.
Simpler variations of pull-ups will get the upper back stronger and improve the posture in
matter of month. Do your upper back exercises, dont skip them, and certainly dont worry
that you will develop huge unfeminine strong back from doing regular back exercises. If
developing large muscles would be that easy, everybody would be Mr. Olympia after a few
weeks of pull-ups and push-ups.
Pull-ups are, like push-ups, standard exercise in earlier mentioned PST. For example the
minimum required number of consecutive pull-ups in first eliminating fit test of the U.S.A.
Special Forces is 8 repetitions. In Russia Special Forces minimum score is 18
consecutive pull-ups with additional 25 pound (11 kilograms) weighted west.

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WHY ARE THEY SO IMPORTANT?
In many literature pull-ups are described as squats for upper body. The muscle they
primarily attack is Latissimus Dorsi (lats), but at the same time they require activation of
almost all upper back muscles and arm muscles, especially Biceps Brachii (biceps) and
Brachioradialis (forearm).

To maintain correct form of exercise no swinging or kipping is allowed which in addition
activates large number of abdominal muscles. In short, its a joyride for whole back and
arms, and particularly useful if you need to climb over fences and walls or climb ropes for
a living. Not that you need to on daily basis, but image scenario where you run from one
or two unfriendly looking vicious dogs and the only safe place is over the 7 foot wall (2,1
meters). Youll be relieved that you did your pull-ups regularly.

Things to remember: Do not, Ill repeat, do not fall in a trap of cheap excuse that you
wont exercise one specific part of your body (for example: upper back) just because
you dont want to develop huge muscles in that area (following example: biceps and
lats). If developing huge strong muscles would be that easy, everybody would look
like Mr. Olympia after a few months of regular exercise.

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GRIP VARIATIONS WITH OR WITHOUT THUMBS
Before we get to the section of describing particular pull-up variations, the importance of
grip should be introduced. Now there is no right or wrong, or this you should do and this
you shouldnt do, here will be explained how particular grips affect your performance
during pull-up exercise.
While gripping the bar either overhand or underhand with thumb can make you feel more
comfortable and secure, it also puts more stress on the muscles of your forearms. This is
barely noticeable if you are doing few set of low repetitions, but when it comes to sets
with high repetitions (more than 10 pull-ups) gripping the bar with thumbs will
significantly affect your performance.

Explanation is very simple; you can put it to test if you like. Doing high repetitions requires
hanging on the bar for longer period of time. Even though your upper back is strong
enough to endure few more repetitions of pull-ups, that doesnt mean a thing if your
forearms are literally burning and you cant hold on to the bar any more. As always this
confirms the all known rule that the chain is strong enough as its weakest link.
Your forearms really shouldnt be your weakest link during pull-up sessions. Luckily you
can do something about it by using the grip without thumbs. In the beginning this may
feel little unnatural but soon it will become normal.

Consider this; remember earlier when you were chased by two unfriendly looking vicious
dogs and the only safe place was over the high wall? Well you can try as much as you
want but there is no way that you can grip the edge of the wall with you thumbs and pull
yourself over. Learn to grip without thumbs.

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SIMPLER VARIATIONS
1. BODY ROWS
To perform body rows you will need bar strong enough to endure you and stabile support
for the bar. Steel pipe or thick wooden shovel handle will do just fine. As for support,
there you must use your creativity and find in your workout surroundings two pieces of
furniture which are equal in height and tall enough to allow you free hang from the bar
without your back touching the floor. Most important, support must be stable enough to
ensure you safe execution of exercise.
Assume starting position by grabbing the bar in overhand grip near shoulder width, hang
freely.
From the lower starting position contract the muscles in your core and back and in one
controllable movement pull yourself up until your chest touches the bar. Exhale during
first step.

When you touched the bar with your chest lower yourself down to a starting position,
during this step you should inhale.
Important note:
Much like in push-ups, during body rows your back must be kept in a straight line with
your butt and legs, eyes looking to the sky. For harder variation you can place your feet on
a chair or some similar object.

2. SUSPENSION TRAINER ROWS
Easier, safer and much painless solution to perform body rows comes in a shape of
suspension trainer. Forget the expensive suspension trainers which are hugely advertised
on TV or fitness web sites. You dont need them. If you receive one set as a birthday
present certainly dont throw them away. They are excellent addition to your home gym
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but in the same time you can easily make your home made suspension trainer for literally
ten times lower cost price. There are many various tutorials on web how to make you own
suspension trainer. Now, assuming that you have your own suspension trainer all you
need to find is one secure anchor point to attach it. In a local hardware store you can
easily find anchors for ceiling which will do just fine.
Assume the starting position by grabbing the handles with your body in one straight line
with only your feet on the floor.

If you find yourself in a temporary no-pull-up environment, like if you are on a business
trip and you are stuck in a hotel room because airport is closed due a huge storm and you
really feel the need to do your pulling exercise or you might go nuclear, relatively good
solution is door handle body rows. You might even use the towel for this variation of body
rows. These are certainly not pull-ups but they will suffice until you find out more
acceptable solution or come back home to your beloved pull-up bar.
Wrap the towel of your choice around the door handle; grab the towel firmly with your
hands, your arms fully extended and assume starting position which more or less looks
like you are almost sitting on the floor.
Important note:
Friction between your feet and the floor is of essence, more friction the better. Also very
important, if you have second thoughts about the safety of the door that you are about to
use do some of light testing before the actual exercise. After all, how can you explain to
someone why did you pull the whole door out of wall? Excuses like Dude I was only
exercising my upper back and the door fell down out of nowhere could be used only if
your landlord, hotel manager or roommate is a fitness junkie himself. Otherwise they will
discard your explanation attempt and proclaim you as a destructive individual with
behavior issues. Safety must be always first, so double check your door.

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3. ASSISTED PULL-UPS
So you finally have your pull-up bar installed but unfortunately you still dont have
strength to perform regular pull-ups. Assisted pull-ups via roommate or a chair is an
excellent choice and a step-up from body rows to actual pull-ups. If you have always
available roommate or training partner you can bother them to assist you, but in the long
run you would be better off with a chair. That way you and your workouts are independent
of anyone anywhere.
Assume the starting position by grabbing the bar at little over the shoulder width. Hang
freely with your arms fully extended and your legs crisscrossed.
With eyes looking up, pull yourself with chest first toward the bar in one steady
controllable movement. Your training partner should give you just enough force

When you have come with your chin over the bar, its time to reverse the movement and
return to the starting position. Again, steadily lower yourself down to starting position until
your arms are truly fully extended. Dont cheat by lowering yourself only half way down.

TIPS FOR GETTING BETTER
Try to hang three or four times from pull-up bar for longer periods of time, for instance
30 seconds up to 1 minute with short rest between. This will improve your grip
strength and you will feel much comfortable during actual pull-ups.
During any pull-up variation try to keep your eyes looking toward the sky rather than in
front of you. This way you will use more your stronger back muscles and less your
arms.
Try to touch the bar with your chest every time you pull up.
Things to remember: Dont limit yourself only to assisted pull-ups; you can mix up
things with different types of grip stances while doing assisted variations. Other grip
stances like chin-ups, commando or hammer pull-ups are described in next section.

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NORMAL VARIATIONS
1. CHIN-UPS
The main difference between chin-ups and pull-ups is the grip stance. Although in both
variations you pull yourself over the bar that most certainly doesnt mean they affect your
body equally. Chin-ups are commonly considered to be easier than pull-ups. The
unwritten rule of a thumb is if you can max out, for the sake of the argument, 12
repetitions of chin-ups than your maximum score of pull-ups should be 8 or 9 repetitions.
Why is that?
To perform chin-ups palms should be faced toward the face, this is also known as the
underhand grip as its shown on the picture. During the pulling movement with
underhand grip muscles in the arms, especially strong biceps muscle, contribute
significantly more too overall pulling action and thus reducing the overall stress on the
back. Simply put, if you want to develop bigger guns in your arms and in the same time
work you entire upper back, chin-ups are the way to go.
Assume the starting chin-up position by gripping the bar with underhand grip little
narrowed than shoulder width. Hang freely with your arms fully extended. When you
mount on the bar there must be no contact to the ground until you dismount, if you are
too tall or the bar is too low bend your knees approximately at 90 degrees.
Pull yourself with chest first toward the bar in one steady controllable movement.
Concentrate and visual yourself using only the upper back muscles during this step and
dont forget to exhale, as before counting aloud does the trick.

Once your chest touched or your chin went over the bar, you are allowed to return to the
starting position, now its time to inhale. Returning movement must be done in steady
controllable manner, dont simply fall down under the gravity. Even though you might
think that all work was done during first step, by lowering yourself steadily you work your
muscles just a little bit more.
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Important note:
Keep your lower body tight in one line and dont cheat by either swinging, kipping,
lowering yourself only half way down or pushing yourself off the ground.

2. PULL-UPS
To perform pull-ups individual must use overhand grip stance where the palms are facing
away. While chin-ups received significant help from arms during pulling movement, pull-
ups will on the other hand put your upper back to the real test.
Assume starting pull-up position by mounting the bar in overhand grip stance, hand
should be near shoulder width, or litter wider but not too wide. Everything else what
applied for chin-ups applies for pull-ups; hang freely with your arms fully extended, bend
your knees if you have to, dont swing or kip, during pulling movement look toward the
sky.
Pull yourself with chest first toward the bar in one steady controllable movement.
Concentrate and visual yourself using only the upper back muscles, especially lats.

When you touched the bar with your chest, or your chin went over the bar return to the
starting position lower position.

Things to remember: Quality beats quantity. Would you rather have three or more
unreliable pull-up bars in your workout surrounding or one heavy duty bar which can
withstand you and your better half at the same time? Same goes with chin-ups or any
other exercise. Dont get magically blinded by some number of repetitions which you
must achieve by any means necessary. Focus more on quality of the fewer but
proper repetitions.

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Important note:
Pull-ups tend to stress your elbow ligaments and tendons much more than earlier chin-
ups. Even though you might feel strong enough in your back and arms for higher
repetitions of pull-ups, if you are a beginner (or you didnt do pull-ups for years) be very
patient and careful before advancing to higher repetition number of pull-ups. Testing
yourself every other day to failure will quickly result in serious tendon injury of one, or
often both elbows. Train smart and protect yourself, listen to your body and advance only
when youre sure you can, not when you think you can.

3. COMMANDO & ROPE PULL-UPS
Commando and rope pull-ups are great way to mix things up and stop any monotony in
pull-up session. Rope (or towel) pull-ups are considerably harder than commando pull-ups
because of the needed grip strength in your forearms while holding on to a rope. If you
are beginner then it would be recommended for you to start with commando pull-ups and
in time advance to rope or towel variation. Commando pull-ups are in literature named
sometimes as mountain climber pull-ups, but there is also leg exercise which has the
same name, so we will stick to commando from now on to avoid any possible
misunderstanding.
Commando pull-ups require unique grip stance on the bar with palms facing each other
as its shown on picture left. Assume starting pull-up position either grabbing the bar
commando way or firmly grabbing the rope (towel). Bend your knees and hang freely with
your arms fully extended.
In one steady controllable movement pull yourself either to left or right side of the bar. If
you are doing more than one repetition, try to go each time on the opposite side of the
bar; dont pull every time on the same side. Be careful not to bump your head against the
bar during the process.

After avoiding close encounter with the bar, lower yourself in steady manner down to
starting pull-up position.
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Important note:
Its always fun until someone gets hurt, so if you are using towel instead of the rope, be
sure to double check the quality of chosen towel. What doesnt kill you makes you
stronger dont apply if you fall from the bar directly on your knees; one could predict some
serious management issues in legs department if that happens.

4. NEUTRAL OR HAMMMER PULL-UPS
Neutral or hammer pull-ups can be done only if your pull-up bar or power tower comes
with two parallel bars. Neutral or hammer pull-ups are closely related to previous
commando pull-up. If you dont have conditions for performing hammer pull-ups dont
sweat about it, as long as you perform commando variation youll be fine. For those who
can do both variations, dont chose only one variation over the other and justified it by
its almost the same thing, mixed it up from time to time and shock your body with
slightly different but almost the same thing variations.
Assume the starting position by mounting the parallel bars, hang freely with your arms
fully extended and if needed knees bent.
In one steady controllable movement pull yourself up until you reach your maximum,
exhale during pull-up.

Reverse the action and lower yourself down to starting position in a steady manner,
inhale during pull-down.
Important note:
Same as before, dont kip or swing, keep your body in one line, during these workouts
never pull to failure, stop one or two repetitions before one occurred.

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5. BEHIND NECK
Behind neck pull-ups, same name for two different stories. One is dark and scary and it
tells the story of forbidden land with no behind neck pull-ups, yet the other one is joyful
and bright and it tells the story of promised land filled with behind neck pull-ups. The real
story is this, if you try to ask someone or even post question on one or two fitness forums
are behind neck pull-ups safe? you will most certainly meet the writers of both stories.
Which one should you believe? Well believe neither and try to observe things from entirely
new angle.
Almost every exercise in the world is potentially dangerous for our health if its done
improperly. At the same time we are not all the same, every one of us is unique in their
own way. Even though pull-ups behind neck are consider dangerous especially for
shoulders, if one of ten individuals can do them without any consequences, they cannot
be immediately categorized as forbidden exercise for everyone everywhere.
If you dont have good shoulder flexibility it would not be recommended to practice this
pull-up variation. If you are however goanna give it a go anyway, same as before approach
it with common sense and right technique.
Assume starting pull-up position with your palms on the bar slightly wider then shoulder
width. Hang freely with your arms fully extended and if needed knees bent.
Without kipping or swinging in one steady controllable movement with eyes looking
forward pull yourself up. Halfway up as you ascend toward the bar, lower your head and
continue your ascend until you touch the bar with your neck.

Lower yourself back to starting position with your arms fully extended. Always aim to
achieve full range of motion regardless of exercise in hand, dont go only halfway; dont
be that guy.

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Important note:
Behind neck pull-ups are probably hardest variations of pull-ups which you will encounter
in these workouts. They are not hardest variation of pull-up in the world, so dont mix
these two and go around telling people false stories about your workout. They demand
high degree of strength and flexibility, so approach them smart with common sense in
very low repetitions in the beginning even though you can for instance do fifty regular pull-
ups.
If you are on the very beginning of pull-ups entirely, postpone behind neck variations until
you build up some amount of strength and flexibility.
And naturally same as before, if you feel sharp pain in your shoulders during execution
stop immediately and switch to the pull-up variation of your own choice. Nobody gained
anything from acute pain, and working trough acute pain in your shoulders will not
improve its flexibility. There are other exercises for achieving that.

PULL UP-S SUMMARY
The thing which must be pointed out at this moment, once again, is that you can skip
entirely pull-ups if you simply dont have any solution to perform them in your current
workout environment. But this can go on only for a short period of time. If you completely
neglect upper body back and exercise exclusively front body, in the long run you will bring
more damage than help to your entire posture and back pain which you experience after
a countless days of sitting in office, in a car or home on the couch in front of TV. Working
entirely only one side of the body develops asymmetry between two sides which in the
end results in bad posture or even worse injury and chronic pain.
Now its obvious why pull-ups are so important and why you should do them.
Yes, this will require some amount of effort from your side to find acceptable solution for
installing pull-up bar or suspension trainer or even buying one of them power towers. And
yes it will ruin the perfect image of your living room or bedroom if you choose to install
them there permanently. But consider this, would you rather feel great and project the
perfect image of yourself everywhere you go or sat down feeling incomplete in you perfect
looking living room? Choose your future, choose pull-ups.

Things to remember: Always exercise both sides of your body equally: chest & back;
abdominals & lower back; quadriceps & hamstring. They are all two sides of the
same coin which is you, neglecting one side for too long is a story with no happy end.

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2.3. LOWER BODY
If you weaken the foundations everything will fall from hundred year old tree to any
structure or building. Our bodies are not by some magical way immune to this rule.
Regardless of how many push-ups or pull-ups you can do, developing strong sturdy legs
which will endure you for the rest of your life is priority. If you have knee problem or
chronic injury which doesnt allow you to put too much stress on your legs in form of
squats or lunges, try to activate your legs as much as you can in some other forms like
hiking, riding a outdoor or stationary bicycle, or perhaps in a long walks.
Almost two and a half thousands years ago father of western medicine Hippocrates of
Cos said Walking is mans best medicine and in this fast paced modern unhealthy life
style, he couldnt be more right.
1. SQUATS
What are pull-ups for upper body the squats are for lower body. But squats are little more
than just that. It is roughly estimated that during one squat there are over two hundred
muscles activated in a human body. As expected large number of these muscles are
located in legs and hips, but large group is located in abdominals and lower back as well.
Of the all exercises described in this book squats are probably only one which you
unaware do during the day. Picking up socks from the floor or other heavier objects,
petting your family cat or sitting on a toilet and etc. all require some form of squatting.
Unless you pet your cat or go to toilet one hundred times a day, you are most certainly not
freed from squats during workouts.
During squats your feet shouldnt be too wide or to narrow, recommended width is
achieved by slightly jumping up and landing softly on your feet. The landing distance
between your feet is the width with which you should go on.
Before the actual description of the exercise, there are two endless debates about squats
which must end right here right now.
First: Squatting down to a chair until your legs form approximately 90 degrees angle vs.
going all the way downtown?

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Much like pull-ups, during squats or any other exercise the general idea is to get the most
from the performed movement. Yes you can and you are entirely allowed to perform any
movement only the half way, but for the most of it always try to perform full range of
motion, squats are no exception.
Second: Squatting with your feet flat on the ground vs. on the balls of your feet?

During both bodyweight and weighted squats you need to keep balance, its more crucial
during weighted squats because if you lose balance with extra 90, 100 or more pounds
on your back (40, 50 or more kilos), you could bring your health in serious jeopardize.
If you cant squat down feet flat during weighted squats, put an object under your heels,
two weight plates will do the trick. Inability to squat down with your feet flat on the ground
comes from your poor hamstring flexibility. It would be very beneficial to put extra
attention on hamstring stretching on daily basis. In the matter of no time you will be able
to squat down with feet flat.

With your feet flat on the ground or on the balls of your feet, lower yourself down until
your legs form at least 90 degree angle or more if you go all way down. Keep your back
straight, chest up, eyes looking forward.

Things to remember: Execute bodyweight squats in a way you feel most comfortable
and natural. If you feel more relaxed and balanced on the balls of you feet thats the
way you should take and vice versa.

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From lower position push yourself upward in one single movement. Keep your back
straight and eyes forward, exhale during second step.
Important note:
However you choose to execute your squats, it is critical to point out that for a proper
form your back should be kept straight during the whole movement, eyes looking forward.
It is entirely up to you where do you want to keep your arms; on hips, in front of you,
behind your head, as long as you maintain proper balance it doesnt matter. Keep your
eyes fixed on same spot during entire movement. Beware or squatting in front of a mirror;
watching yourself going up and down can easily put you out of balance.

2. SPLIT SQUATS&LUNGES
Lunges and step ups are both great compound auxiliary exercises to follow up the squats.
Unlike squats, lunges attack significantly more hamstring and glutes and less quadriceps.
At the same time, they require some amount of balance and coordination as they are
performed by stepping forward and backwards to starting position. In the beginning this
may put too much stress on your knees, so until you develop required strength and agility
to perform proper lunges, easier variation comes in a form of static lunges also known as
split squats.
SPLIT SQUATS
To perform split squats assume starting position by taking one big step forward with only
one leg. Unlike lunges which are done one leg at the time, split squats will be performed
whole set on the one side before changing the leg on the other side of the body.
With your knee pointing in the same direction as your foot, lower yourself down until your
knee almost touches the ground. Hands can be kept on your hips or wherever you feel
most comfortable.

Reverse the movement and return to the starting position. In the beginning for better
balance you can hold on to a chair, but in time advance to hands free execution.
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Important note:
The knee of the leading leg must be kept in the same line with the shin during the first
step as its shown on picture. This goes for lunges too. Pushing your knee too far out ruins
the proper form; the movement becomes much too easy. Quality over quantity!
Little harder variation of split squat can be performed by placing back foot on higher
object. Same as before, dont overdo it with too much height. When this comes too easy
you are more than ready to advance to full lunges.

LUNGES
Whereas split squat were performed from static stance, lunges are executed by full
dynamic movement from starting standing position to lower position. In the beginning you
might feel little unbalanced, but in short time you will develop required coordination.
Hands can be kept wherever you feel most comfortable, usually it is on hips.
Step forward with only one leg and simultaneously in one steady controllable movement
lower yourself toward the ground until the knee of the back leg almost touches the
ground. Knee of the leading leg must be kept in one line with shins during the first step.

From lower position in one movement explode backward to the starting standing position.
Exhale during second step.
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Important note:
Lunges are performed one leg at the time, for instance you step forward first with your
right leg, lower yourself, return to starting position, step forward with your left leg, lower
yourself, return to starting position, and then you can say you performed one repetition of
lunges. It is very clear that ten lounges (ten per each leg) will take double amount of time
that is needed for ten squats, dont worry they are worth it.
3. STEP-UPS
To perform step-ups youll need larger solid secure object which can withstand your entire
weight. Since you are performing bodyweight step-ups the height of the object should be
from 16 to 23 inches (40 60 centimeters), the higher it goes the harder it gets but dont
overdo it. Dont use some cheap unstable chair; safety first, be creative and find some
object in your workout surroundings that will do.

Step-ups are great alternative to lunges but do not ever completely substitute one
exercise for the other. They are not the same and you will benefit hugely only by
incorporating both of them.
Step-up with one leg (for instance right leg), and without jumping off the ground with
other leg (left leg), push yourself upward until you step with both legs on the object.

By steady lowering yourself down, return to the ground first with the leg which was left
behind during the first step (in this example left leg).
Repeat movement with alternative leg, and only then you can count one repetition of
step-up (one per both legs), same as lunges.
Important note:
If you feel sharp pain in your knees during step-ups, immediately stop with this exercise.
Once again, pushing trough mental pain in your mind is one admirable thing, but pushing
trough knee pain during squats, lunges or step-ups can only result in serious injury and
knee is the last joint which you want to injure.
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4. HAMMSTRING
Hamstring is the other side of the coin during your leg workout. Squatting or lunging will
activate hamstring only so much, so additional movements are more than welcomed.
There are two simple available bodyweight movements that will get the job done. In the
beginning, during workouts you should use easier leg curl variation and naturally in time
progress to advance glute-ham raise variation.
GROUND LEG CURLS
This exercise can be done using one of those big Pilates ball or on your own home made
suspension trainer or even on your skateboard. Easiest way to execute this movement is
directly on the floor using only pair of furniture sliders or two similar small durable pieces
which will allow sliding on the ground without too much friction and at the same time
prevent any possible damage to the floor or carpet.
Assume starting position by lying down on the ground on your back with your pelvis raised
upward, feet are firmly placed on sliders, legs are bent and arms can be held alongside of
the body or crisscrossed on the chest.
From starting position contract the muscles of you core and by controllable sliding, extend
your legs while keeping your glutes above the ground. Just slide! Keep pelvis off the
ground.

Reverse the movement back to starting position by sliding your feet backward until the
heels almost reach your gluteus.
Important note:
Pelvis must be kept above the ground during the entire exercise. For more intensity try to
use surface which will give you more resistance in form of a friction for instance, instead
of wooden floor try to use carpet.

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GLUTE-HAM RAISE
Regardless of how many ground leg curls you can do, when you advance to glute-ham
raise chances are you wont be able to perform even one hands free repetition. This only
shows how intense this bodyweight movement really is. To execute this movement all you
need is one small pillow; anchor for your feet and of course a piece of ground.
Finding suitable anchor for your feet can become real challenge so you will need to use
your creativity once again. In the shown example bed is used to secure the feet. Although
main weight of the bed was not enough so additional weight in form of a training partner
was used. Beware if using a training partner as additional weight it can become another
challenge to keep him in one place during the whole exercise. Healthy snack and TV
should get the job done.
Assume the starting position by placing your knees on the pillow and securing the ankles
under the chosen anchor point.
With your back straight, in steady manner lower yourself toward the ground using only
hamstring and gluteus muscles. For your own safety and to avoid close encounter of your
nose with ground, keep the arms and palms in front of you all time just in case you lower
yourself too quickly.

This is the hard part. Even if you experience close encounter with the ground, from lower
position using hamstring pull yourself upward to starting position. Keep your back straight
and in one line with gluteus.
Important note:
During the reverse step push yourself lightly from the ground with your hands just like
doing a push-up. Try to use only enough pushing force to give you starting momentum
while the main pulling force still comes from hamstring. In time as you build strength in
your legs, the needed assistance from hands will decrease. Just be patient and
determined with glute-ham raise, it will pay off.

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5. CALVES
Those that do their regular dose of jogging, or more intense running, or perhaps hiking on
the nearby mountain, they already understand the important role that calves play in
already overlooked leg department. To avoid any muscle spasms or even worse shin
splits after running, it would be very beneficial to build up some calf strength first. Simple
yet very effective exercise comes in a form of standing calves raise, all thats required is
some small step or solid object in your workout environment.
Assume starting position by stepping with balls of your feet on edge of the step. For better
balance you can place your hand for support on some object in your surroundings, it
wont influence the exercise too much.
Push yourself upward the higher you can on the balls of your feet.

Lower yourself downward to the point of almost slipping from the step, but dont slip, hold
on to some object for balance.
Important note:
In the beginning do both legs at the same time. Soon your calves will get stronger and you
will need to advance to weighted variations, or one leg at the time variation.

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2.4. CORE
Core the missing link between upper and lower body. Don not make mistake by assuming
that core is only abs, and that hundred crunches will cover your core workout, it wont.
Abdominal muscles are only one half of the equation, other half is very often neglected
lower back.
To destroy your fantasies immediately; you wont get six packs and lose that beer belly
from doing hundred crunches every day. Everybody has six packs. Only difference is most
people got them hidden under the thick layers of body fat.
To bring your six packs back to life on the surface you will need to lose that extra fat
around your waist by doing regular amount of intensity cardiovascular workout and
reviewing your nutrition habits. High intensity workouts dont mean a thing if they are not
followed by acceptable diet habits.
Since your current mission is to feel great and strong about yourself (and the good looks
will come along shortly) first of all you will want to develop indestructible core.

1. AB-S
CRUNCHES
Lie flat on your back in supine position on the ground with your lower legs crisscrossed in
the air or resting on the chair. Cross your arms over the chest. Contract the abdominal
muscles and raise your upper torso until your elbows make contact with the knees. Keep
your lower back flat on the ground and exhale during the raising movement.

BICYCLE CRUNCHES
Begin with laying flat on your back with your arm behind your head. Raise your feet from
the ground and pull the knee of the left leg toward the chest and at the same time
contract the abdominal muscles and bring your right elbow toward the incoming left knee.
When the contact is made return the left knee and at the same time bring right knee the
same way up, like riding the imaginary bicycle, only this time make contact with your left
elbow. Continue in this crisscross fashions until you have completed all repetitions, only
then you can lower your legs back to the ground. Try to maintain constant breathing.
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V-UPS
Lie back on the ground with your arms extended over your head. Simultaneously raise
your legs and torso. Try to reach the ankles with your fingers while keeping your legs
straight and your chin upward dont tuck in your chest, core should be kept tight.
Depending on your core flexibility and strength, in the very beginning aim to make contact
with your knees and in time progress to ankles or even toes of your feet.

SIT UP
Sit on the ground with your knees bent; if possible find suitable anchor for your feet, arms
crossed on your chest. Fold and place a small towel behind you on the ground just where
your lower back would touch the ground. Begin exercise from upper sitting position by
lowering yourself down just until you touch the towel with your lower back then using the
abdominal muscles reverse the action and return to the starting sitting position.

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KNEE HUGS
Lie flat on your back with your arms stretched out on each side. In one movement
contract the abdominal muscle and raise your upper torso and at the same time raise
your feet off the ground and pull your knees toward the chest. Finish this movement by
hugging the knees before descending back to the starting position. Exhale during raising
movement.

FLUTTER KICK
Lie flat on your back with the feet and your head slightly raised above the ground. Its
recommended to keep hands under the buttocks in order to support the lower back.
Raise left leg to a 45-degree angle while keeping the right leg stationary slightly above the
ground. Return left leg to a starting position while simultaneously moving the right leg to
the 45-degree angle. Continue in this scissors fashions until you have completed all
repetitions, only then you can lower your legs back to the ground.

CROSS CRUNCH
Lie flat back on the ground with one leg bent and the other one placed in a crisscrossed
fashion on the knee of the first one, arms behind head. Contract the muscles of your core
and rise with your right elbow toward the left knee. When the contact is made return to
the starting position and continue with required number of repetitions before switching
the side to left elbow right knee.

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RUSSIAN TWIST
Sit down on the floor with your knees bent for about 90-degrees. Keep your feet together
and slightly above the ground. Keep your upper body in a straight line with approximately
45-deegree angle. Hands should be locked together and kept away from the body. Begin
with twisting your upper body torso in one side until you can almost touch ground with
your hands. Reverse the action and continue swinging movement to the other side. Keep
your feet above the ground all time.

2. LOWER BACK
BACK BRIDGE
Back bridges are the first step you will take to strengthen your lower back. Besides lower
back, this simple exercise will improve your hips and glutes strength. Lie flat on your back
with arms resting on the ground along side with your body. Place your feet flat on the floor
with your knees bent. In one steady movement drive your hips upward until you reach
your maximum range of motion. Maintain that position for two or more seconds before
descending down to the starting position. Soon enough after few repetitions you will start
to feel glutes and hips working.

SUPERMAN
To perform superman exercise you will need to lie flat on your belly with your arms fully
extended above your head. In one steady movement at the same time raise your arms,
chin and legs up from the ground. Maintain upward positions for two or more seconds
before descending down to the starting position. Raising height of the arms and legs
depends on your own flexibility, but keep in mind that even small raising height activates
greatly your lower back.
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The PLANK
The plank hold represents all around isometric strength exercise which attacks not only
the core but the upper back and the shoulders. Unlike other core exercises which have
required number of repetitions, the plank hold involves as the name already suggests
maintaining difficult position for a longer periods of time. There are many possible
variations of the plank and in time you can explore them all, but for the time being in this
program you will encounter four basic holds:

Normal plank assume the prone position on the floor while supporting your weight
on your forearms and toes. Arms should be bent and kept directly below shoulders.
Maintain straight body line is an imperative, so keep your core tight.

Push-up plank assume the push-up starting position on the floor. Hips must be kept
in one straight line with legs and torso just like in the normal plank.

Side plank lie on one side on the floor while supporting your weight only on one
forearm. Legs are placed one on top of the other and kept in one straight line with
hips. Repeat the same with opposite side.

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Superman plank assume the prone position on the floor while supporting your
weight on the palms of your hands and toes, arms are almost fully extended. In this
variation of plank achieving the straight body line would very difficult, so small body
arc is allowed.

EXERCISES SUMMARY
This chapter can leave you with questions what about one arm push-ups, one arm pull-
ups or pistol squats? It will be pointed out again, they are advanced bodyweight exercises
and they are not meant for beginners. Even well experienced people in bodyweight
training have troubles in the beginning with these advance exercises. If you cant do
twelve or fifteen consecutive pull-ups there is no reason for you to do one arm pull-ups, or
one arm push-ups.
Answers like it looks cool should be kept for yourself and re-think again.
Jumping too early and eagerly on one arm (or one leg) type of exercises often results in
serious injury muscle or even worse, the injury of tendon or ligament. Training safe and
smart is absolute imperative, there are no shortcuts or easy ways and results dont come
over night.
To be physically fit should be viewed more like a long journey instead of one hundred
sprint race, now lets begin with the first step the workouts.

Things to remember: Train safe and smart, only you can protect yourself! If you are
trying some new movement or more difficult variation of exercise, approach it with
common sense and by little steps. Time is on your side, getting injured will
accomplish nothing and it will discourage you in further progress or even worse.

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3. THE WORKOUTS
What is a workout? By definition a workout is any physical activity during which we
maintain or improve physical performance, general health and overall wellness.
In our society different categories of people go through rigorous workouts on daily basis
for all of sort different reasons.
Professional athletes do it mostly for out of competitive purposive and money since their
activity in the specific sport brings the food on the table. Its their job to strive to be best
at what they do.
Enlisted personnel do it because lack of physical fitness in the field can seriously bring
the lives of entire squad to jeopardize. In other words they workout hard to survive.
Fitness junkies on the other hand do it simply because they enjoy the overall stress of the
workouts and the pleasurable feeling afterwards. Many, if not all of them consider the
workout time to be as me time dont disturb. If there is some new exercise they will try
it. If there is some new workout equipment be sure they have already tested it. No matter
what you throw at them, the hungry beast inside them will never be truly satisfied.
The most common category belongs in the average gym. They are the regular people who
do it mostly for pure visual reasons, either for gaining the muscle mass or more often for
losing the weight before the upcoming summer. Their only motives are insecurity and
vanity. Sadly neither one can stand a battle against day after day hard workout. They are
category which usually quits at the first sign of the uncomfortable and could well be
responsible for all the possible excuses in the world why to miss a workout.
Lastly comes the rarest category of all, regular people who participates in physical activity
simply because it feels right, who are aware of the health benefits of undergoing some
form of physical activity on a daily basis. They are not burdened by their physical
appearance, nor unlike fitness junkies, do they spend their free time reviewing their
actual workouts or researching new methods of training. They are our elders taking a long
walks every day in a park or around the block with a dog. Work colleagues who use
bicycle instead of public transportation to get to work and back. Parents who spend their
free time gardening. Neighborhood joggers who run the same run every day at tick of
dawn or after work to clear their head. Students who instead of hitting the books hard,
play streetball all day. Most of the time they are unaware of the actual workout their body
is undergoing, for instance one hour on your knees in the garden shoveling earth is a
tremendous upper body workout.
The workouts in this book are not design to be sport specific or activity specific. Meaning;
if you are going to run a local marathon conducting intense bodyweight workouts three
times a week is great, but youll need to involve some serious running sessions in your
week routine if you are planning on finishing the course on a day of competition. In other
words, sport or event specific training requires sport or event specific workouts.
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If your goal is to develop strong healthy body capable of sustaining any physical task that
a human can encounter in their daily life, that requires hard work and varies intense
workouts like the ones presented in this material. If your goal is to excel in the sport of
Olympic weightlifting, you should conduct workouts and training programs suited specific
for that sport.
Intense workouts
Word intense or intense workout has popped up too many times now to be simply taken
for granted as a form of describing some strenuous activity. To truly appreciate the
upcoming workouts and the rewards which will be gained through them, we must firstly
understand how our body copes and reacts to a state of higher physical activity during the
workouts. Here will be explained for informational purposes only, the very surface of the
muscular system and undergoing reactions inside the muscles during some physical
activity. For greater level of knowledge on that subject the very best first step should be
the book of Human Physiology.
Human body contains three mayor muscle types; cardiac, smooth and skeletal muscle.
Skeletal muscle is under voluntary control of our nervous system. Simply put any
controllable movement of any part of our body happens through skeletal muscle. Skeletal
muscle therefore becomes our number one point of interest. It can be divided into a two
categories of muscle fibers:
Type I Slow Twitch
Type II Fast Twitch
Which one do we use largely depends on the involved physical activity.
It really all comes down to energy and conversion of energy. In physics, the law of
conservation of energy states that we cant make energy, we can only convert it. To
produce voluntary movement of our body, inside out skeletal muscle, conversion of
chemical into mechanical energy takes places.
Type I Slow Twitch muscle fibers are involved in aerobic activities, the activities which
demand oxygen in a process of converting chemical energy from fuel into mechanical
energy. During the long endurance activities body uses body fats as primary fuel, for
instance if we participate in a long walk we use only our Slow Twitch muscle fibers and
burn our body fat with help of oxygen.
Type II Fast Twitch muscle fibers are involved in anaerobic activities, the activities
which dont demand presence of oxygen to produce mechanical energy from chemical
energy during intense activities as sprinting or high intensity training. The source of
chemical energy for this conversion is adenosine triphosphate (ATP) located within our
cells. Image it as a very powerful but also very short lasted source of energy, lasts only a
few seconds.
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So how come we can sprint at full speed for thirty seconds or more?
After a few seconds of very intense activity like sprinting, our body immediately starts the
regeneration of ATP with the help of creatine phosphate (CP).
Ok, so our body regenerates this very powerful source of energy, but how come we can
only sprint at full speed for two or maybe three minutes max before our muscles simply
give up?
After thirty seconds of all-out very intense activity, only way to provide more ATP to active
muscles is by using the sugar glucose from the muscles through a process known as
glycolysis. Glycolysis has a one big downside as lactic acid is formed as an unwanted by-
product of the process. Soon enough lactic acid begins to accumulate first in muscles
then in blood. Unless its cleared from the body, muscle fatigue and finally the point of
muscle failure is inevitable.
If you however switch just in time form all-out sprint to moderate running or jogging, you
can avoid muscle failure because after a few minutes of strenuous activity aerobic
system kicks in and provides energy conversion from fats using oxygen, thus putting the
stop of glycolysis process and to further production of lactic acid.
Right, but if we use body fat as a fuel during aerobic activates like walking, jogging or
swimming what is the point of intense and painful anaerobic activates?
Yes, it is true that at the moment of intense anaerobic activates we dont use body fat as
primary source of energy. But research shows that we can actually burn more body fat by
conducting thirty minutes of intense anaerobic exercise instead of sixty minutes easy
aerobic activity. The reason is excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) or after-
burn. After a strenuous anaerobic activity EPOC effect can last for several hours during
which body burns fat, whereas during aerobic activity body burns fat only during the
actual activity.
What do you gain during intense workouts?
By conducting very intense activities or workouts on regular basics significant changes
happens inside our body. First of all comes an increase of overall blood volume, followed
by increase of stroke volume the volume of blood which heart pumps up during one
stroke, since the stroke volume is up heart rate decreases at given intensity of activity
involved, and naturally we must not forget the general improvement of blood pressure
that occurs. Lastly over time, capacity to tolerate lactic acid in the system also increases
so you are able to successfully perform longer under very intense activity before burning
up.
These are only few of the most popular benefits that you gain by working intense, the
ones whose value you can really appreciate.
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One thing intense workouts wont give you even if you train two times a day seven-day a
week, a total immunity to exhaustion. It doesnt matter if you are true beginner ready to
try your first intense workout, or this years winner of the CrossFit Games. During
prolonged very intense activity everybody at some point experience the bitter taste of
exhaustion. Difference is of course that amateurs tend to feel that experience much
quicker than pro athletes who have unbelievable high capacity to tolerate lactic acids due
to over years of hard work and rigorous training. Intense workouts will prepare you
mentally for the first moment of crises. When that moment happens, youll be able to
push a little more instead of simply giving up at the first sign of being uncomfortable.
Hopefully this helps to emphasize and clarify how much intense condition workouts are
superior to other training routines. But be advised once again, one of the goals of the
workouts presented in this material is to mentally challenge you and push you one step
beyond the line that your conscience allows. The goal is not to push you to failure (except
The Fit Test but that will be addressed properly later on). If, or better, when you feel the
point of failure coming strong take the necessary steps to avoid it: switch to easier
variation of exercise, take bigger rest breaks, lower the number of repetitions. Other than
it sends the wrong message to your self-esteem and overall workout motivation, hitting
failure after failure in every workout is a fast lane to injury. Train intense but smart!
3.1. WARM-UP & STRETCHING
Almost every couch fitness guru, as explained earlier the one who conducts his workout
experiments just by sitting all day long and reviewing countless workout forums or blogs,
will swear by everything he holds dear that you should and must do minimum of fifteen
minutes warm-up and complete body stretching, otherwise you are in big trouble.
While this may seem like generally good advice, its not the one that you should blindly
follow.
The real purpose of any warm-up is to prepare our body for strenuous activity that will
shortly follow. What kind of warm-up you should do depends entirely on the activity which
will be performed. Doing hundred jumping jacks will surly get your blood flowing but it will
not prepare you upper back for rigorous pull-up workout.
The most important thing about warm-up is to get your joints loosen; especially shoulders,
elbows, wrists, hips and knees. Second important thing is to get blood flowing through
larger groups of muscles in our body. Long static stretching on cold muscles before
workout is utterly complete waste of time. Dynamic stretching will get the job done just
fine.
Since every workout includes pull-ups, pushups and squats it would be logical to prepare
our bodies during warm-up for those bodyweight movements. So every workout will begin
with the same warm-up, after the five minutes of dynamic stretching you will perform mini
pyramid of easier pull-up, pushups and squat variations without break to get your blood
flowing.
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DYNAMIC STRETCHING (5 minutes)
During dynamic stretching you will gently prepare your muscles to their maximum range
of motion. Do not use forced or jerky movements; they can only lead to injury so during all
time keep yourself in the comfortable zone. Dynamic and static stretching is not
competition. Some individuals are more flexible than others, so do not compare yourself
with others in terms of flexibility and use common sense. The stretch is best done from
top down, and give or take it will last for about 5 minutes.
NECK
Gently start rotating your head in clockwise direction. After three or five revolutions
change direction to counter clockwise. Keep rotating for period of approximately 30 sec.
SHOULDERS
Extend your arms in form of a letter T. Gently start to rotate them in mini circles. After few
revolutions begin to make bigger circles, and eventually after 30 sec. begin to make full
arms rotations over your head. Gradually move yourself from letter T to overhead
rotations. Repeat the same process in counter direction.
ELBOWS
Once again extend your arms in form of a letter T. Gently start to rotate your forearm
toward the body, keep your arms locked in elbow. Every 5 seconds change the direction
of your forearm rotation. Keep doing this for 30 seconds.
WRISTS
Lock the palms of your hands with each other in finger crisscrossed manner, and gently
start to rotate your wrists. Keep doing this for about 30 seconds.
CHEST
Form the letter T with your arms. Gently bring your arms in front of you and slightly
crisscross them. From that position bring your arms backward as much as your chest
allow. 30 seconds will suffice.
HIPS
Take a slightly wider stance and with your arms on the hips start rotating in clockwise
direction. Every three or five revolutions change the direction of rotation. Bigger the
circles you make better the stretch, but dont lose your balance.
KNEES
Take a stance with you feet together, place the hands on the knees and with slightly bent
knees start to make mini circles in clockwise direction. After few revolutions change the
direction to counter clockwise and continue for about 30 seconds.
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THE MINI PYRAMID
After dynamic stretching it is time for small bodyweight workout that will prepare your
body for real workout. Name of the game is pyramid and the only rule is you must perform
this mini workout with no rest between exercises or repetitions. This will surly get your
heart beating and maybe even leave you without your breath. Beginners for warm-up use
easier variations of pull-ups and push-ups, Intermediate and Advance should use full
bodyweight variations.

The beginners walkthrough
Step 1: 1 repetition of easier variation of pull-up, followed by 2 repetitions of squats,
followed by 2 repetitions of easier variation of push-ups.
Step 5: 1repetition of easier variation of pull-up, followed by 2 repetitions of squats,
In summary mini pyramid consists of 9 pull-ups, 18 push-ups and 18 squats. After
warm-up take a little break; walk around, stretch and sip some water but dont sit down,
its about time to get seriously busy.

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3.2. BODYWEIGHT PYRAMID
In order to get better at any bodyweight exercise, it is essential to get body accustomed to
high number of repetitions of exercise in hand per workout. Since you are dealing with
your own bodyweight, certain exercises are significantly harder than others like for
instance pull-ups vs. squats. Three or four quality sets of 12 repetitions of squats are
doable, but what about three sets of 12 repetitions of pull-ups. You probably wont be
able to successfully perform first set not to mention remaining other two sets. Even if you
somehow succeed, in total its only 36 pull-ups.
With pyramid approach you can successfully perform large number of repetitions per
workout without burning up. Small pyramid of 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 equals sixteen in total
repetitions. If you perform four of those small pyramids in total you achieved 64
repetitions in one workout.
Pyramid workout is therefore high volume workout with main objective of performing as
many repetitions as you can without burning up in a form of failure. This will also be the
longest workout of this program, estimated time about an hour, or an hour and half if you
take really lengthy breaks. Maintain rest time between all exercises and all repetitions
between fifteen to maximum thirty seconds. There will be five separated blocks
containing small pull-up pyramid, followed by leg pyramid, followed by push-up pyramid,
followed by one set of calves and for the final touch one set of core exercises.

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Begin the first block with 1 repetition of chin-up, rest 1530 sec, and perform 2 chin-
ups, rest, back to 1 chin-up. Rest 1530 sec, and get ready for squats.
Begin squat pyramid with 4 repetitions of squats, rest 1530 sec, and perform 8
squats, rest 1530 sec, and back to 4 squats. Rest 1530 sec, and get ready for push-
ups.
Begin regular push-up pyramid with 2 repetitions, rest 1530 sec, and perform 4
regular push-ups, rest and finish pyramid back with 2 push-ups. Rest 1530 sec, and
get ready for calves.
Perform one set of 15 repetitions of calves, rest 15-30 sec and get ready for core
exercise.

Perform one set of 15 repetitions of crunches, rest 15-30 sec and continue to second
block in the same manner.

3.3. NINE CIRCLES OF HELL
In Dantes poem Divine Comedy, Hell is described as nine circles of suffering located
within the earth. This workout is no different except every circle is the same, whereas in
Dantes Hell every circle represents different suffering. Now there is no reason to be sad
because as you complete each of nine identical circles you will experience whole new
level of suffering. Of course the majority will be mental suffering, as muscle fatigue
accumulates after each circle you will need to dig deeper inside yourself to push to the
very end of the last circle.
Each circle, as mentioned, consists of the nine same exercises, almost identical exercises
to the later described workout the condition pyramid. Its really hard to decide which
workout is tougher. There is really no need for comparing them even though they share
same exercises in the same order because both of these workouts will leave you
physically and emotionally drained. If you felt frustrated or angry at something you better
write it down cause afterwards it will be last thing on your mind. Rest time of one minute
or maximum two minutes for beginners, is scheduled between each circle. As you
progress in time to advance workout, your rest time shouldnt go over one minute.
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Estimated time of this workout without warming-up and with rest time under one minute,
should be forty-five minutes or less.

After a warm up take a good look at the list of exercises, try to memorize it, and begin the
circle with 2 repetitions of chin-ups, with no rest continue to 4 split-squats, again with
no rest between drop down to 4 push-ups, get up and continue with 4 squats, next
comes 4 bench dips, no rest time until you finish the complete circle, down on the floor
and execute 4 leg curls, up and down to 2 burpees, back to 2 pull-ups and for the
final touch hold plank for straight 20 seconds.
Congrats you finished the first circle, take a rest break of one or two minutes, drink water,
walk around but dont sit down. After the break continue to the next circle, one down
eight to go.

Things to remember: After each circle, during the rest break write down the number
of circles you did. It looks meaningless in the beginning, but as you reach sixth or
seventh circle muscle fatigue and overall mental stress can really mess your most of
the time perfect memory. This takes minimum effort but it can be of real help when
you are in a state of doubt at the few last circles.

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3.4. DECK OF CARDS
If you want to spice thighs up and shock body completely different each time, Deck of
cards workout will do just fine. As the name already suggest to perform this superb
workout you will need one deck of fifty-two poker standard playing cards. Each card of
each suite represents exercise and number of repetitions which must be done in a proper
form. For instance if you draw seven of hearts (7) you will perform 7 push-ups, next
you draw four of spades (4) you will perform 4 pull-ups and so on. Put the drowned
card aside from the deck and continue with next card until you go through all the cards in
the deck.
Rest time between cards is completely up to you. If you take your time and rest lengthy
this workout can last up to two hours. If you keep your rest time brief just enough to wipe
out the sweat and pick up next card, then estimated time of this workout without
warming-up should be between forty-five minutes to maximum one hour.
One last thing, before the workout give your deck a really good shuffle. After all you dont
want to draw five spade cards (pull-ups) in a row. Even if you do dont cheat by
postponing those cards for later, suck it up and do what you got to do. Cursing your bad
luck is totally acceptable at this point.

Things to remember: When you drew ten of spades (10) you are required to perform
10 chin-ups. If you get the feeling that you could burn up on the half way there,
divide this in 5 + 3 + 2 pull-ups or in 6 + 2 + 2 with small rest between. Only when you
hit 10 pull-ups in total you can move on to the next card from deck.
Do not make mistake of doing only 5 or 6 pull-ups instead of 10 and then say I
cant do whole ten so Ill move to next card.
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3.5. 410 min
410 minute workout consists of four basic exercises: push-ups, squats, pull-ups,
burpees and some core exercise for a strong finish. All youll need is a really big clock in
your workout surroundings or a stop-watch on your wrist.

After a warm-up and stretching you will start your stop-watch and perform desirable
number of push-ups; for beginners it would be three push-ups.
Rest time is all the time left on the stop-watch or clock until new minute is reached, then
you execute new set of push-ups and again rest until the next full minute. Rest time
therefore depends on the chosen number of push-ups and the pace of executing them.

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You will continue with the push-ups for ten consecutive minutes, and then without any
special rest you will switch to squats, after squats to the ten minutes of pull-ups and after
pull-ups to ten minutes of burpees. Finish with core workout. Estimated time of this
workout, without warming-up, should be fifty-five minutes or less.
If you begin ten minutes with lets say 5 push-ups per each minute, and after six
minutes you start to burn out; dont quit and switch to next exercise. Lower the number of
repetitions to even 1 push-up if you need to, but continue until you finished all ten
minutes, only then you can switch to next exercise. Same goes for squats, pull-ups and
burpees.

3.6. BEEN THERE DONE THAT
We have all been there and done that, in this workout you will have to do it eight times
more to finish very intense but short workout. The workout consists of eight steps or mini
circles. Every step consists of four different exercises with no rest time between them.
Rest time comes only when the step (the mini circle) is finished. You should keep it under
one minute, true beginners are allowed maximum two minutes between the steps. The
general idea is as you advance to use as little as possible rest during this workout.
On the first glace it doesnt look like much on a paper, but when you include minimum
rest time factor, intensity of the workout increases exponentially. Good news is every next
step (mini circle) is slightly easier than previous. The very last step on a paper looks like a
joke, but at the time when you reached it the joke will be everything but funny. Estimated
time of this workout, without warming-up, should be thirty or less minutes.

After a good warm-up begin the workout with the 45 seconds of stationary running, with
no pause grab your pull-up bar, or a suspension trainer, and execute 9 repetitions of
body rows or easier pull-up variation. With no pause between, drop down and execute 9
repetitions of knee push-ups or incline push-ups, and continue to hold push-up plank for
30 seconds to finish the first step. Now you can rest from one to maximum two minutes.
Continue through all seven remaining steps to finish the workout.
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3.7. The CHAIN
The chain workout is high intensity minimum rest type of workout much like Deck of cards
workout. Youll be faced with twelve different exercises, and you will go through them one
at the time. Only then when you have done required number of repetitions of the exercise
in hand you are allowed to move on to the next one in order. Since this is timed workout,
meaning you are trying to beat your workout time each time, rest time between exercises
or between repetitions is totally up to you. Doing 10 consecutive pull-ups and 50
squats with almost no rest between will certainly leave painfully memory in your mind, so
take breaks when you need to. If needed perform pull-ups 1 repetition at the time until
you reached 10 in total. This will take you little longer but after a few weeks when the
chain workout comes again you will aim to improve your time on ten pull-ups by doing
them in repetitions of 2 pull-ups until you reach your goal of 10 in total, same goes for
any other exercise. Estimated time of this workout, without warming-up, should be fifty or
less minutes.

After a warm-up and a short rest, begin the workout with 10 repetitions of pull-ups. If
needed do 1 repetition of pull-up until you complete whole 10 repetitions. Keeping the
rest time to minimum needed, continue to 50 repetitions of squats. Divide them if you
need to 20 + 15 + 15 repetitions with small rest between, in time try to raise the bar
each time until you can complete whole 50 consecutive repetitions. Same goes for every
other exercise. You can see now where the rest of this is going, simply follow the list of
exercises until you have finished whole workout. Remember, since this is a timed workout
keep you rest time short but on the other hand long enough to keep you away from
burning up. True beginners use easier variations of certain exercises. Dont forget to write
down workout time at the end.
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3.8. TABATA BODYWEIGHT INTERVAL
Invented by Professor Izumi Tabata during his study in the year of 1996 on the Olympic
speed-skaters; the High Intensity Interval Training protocol (HIIT) had a form of 8 cycles of
20 seconds very intense exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest, giving in total 4 minutes
of continues exercise. Benefits of this rigorous approach to workout compared with
steady forty minutes of jogging, cycling etc. with the goal of burning body fat and raising
anaerobic capacity are superior. No wonder it got worldwide popular among coaches,
athletes and fitness instructors.
The general idea of this method can be applied with almost every exercise in the world.
You simply explode for 20 seconds whether you are running the stairs in your building,
shoveling snow in the yard, jumping the rope or doing bodyweight exercises in your
apartment and take rest of 10 seconds. You continue to repeat this cycle for a longer
period of time from original four minutes to thirty minutes for total workout.
Now how long is too little and how long is too much. Well using the oldest method for
solving problems in the world Trial and error it is roughly estimated that enough workout
time is between fifteen and maximum thirty minutes.
In the presented workouts a time of twenty continues minutes is required. Naturally as
before, you are more than welcomed to test longer periods of time, conduct your own
experiments. You can even change the work rest ratio, for example you can follow 30
seconds of high intensity exercise followed by 15 seconds of rest for fifteen continues
minutes.
Bottom line whatever you choose stick to that to the end of the workout. If you dont feel
particularly interested for testing you can follow the presented workout and youll be just
fine because twenty continues minutes of this high intense workout is more than enough.
Since all the workouts in this book contain more than one bodyweight exercise, there is
no reason why you should use only one exercise, for example only squats during the
Tabata interval training workout. You by all means can, but this way it will be more
interesting and by using different exercises after each 20 seconds, you automatically
offer certain muscles a small rest. Try to control your breathing and take big breaths
during the rest of 10 seconds. Estimated time of this workout, without warming-up, is
twenty minutes but there is additional core workout so overall estimated time should be
under the forty minutes.
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After a good warm-up, feeling fresh and ready, begin the tabata protocol with 20 seconds
of body rows. After the 10 seconds rest, continue next 20 seconds of squats. Rest for 10
seconds and continue to 20 seconds of jumping jacks. After the rest break follows 20
seconds of knee push-ups, rest for 10 seconds and continue to 20 seconds of split
squats.10 seconds rest and back to beginning with 20 seconds of body rows. Continue in
this fashion until all 20 minutes of Tabata interval workout are completed. After the
needed rest, work your way through additional core workout to complete the whole
workout.

3.9. CONDITION PYRAMID
Unlike bodyweight pyramid workout where almost each exercise has its own small
pyramid, condition pyramid is design a bit differently. Each step of the pyramid consists of
eight different exercises which are required to be performed sequentially one after
another with no rest between. One or maximum two minute rest time is scheduled
between the steps.
First three steps are going to be relatively easy, maybe even too easy. However as you
make your way to step #4 you will start to notice surprisingly quick lack of breath. From
this point things are not going to get any better, each further step will require great
willingness and mental fortitude. Even when you conquer the hardest step of the pyramid,
for beginners step #5, descending step #4 will be equally challenging because of the
overall muscle and mental fatigue. Continue with decent to #1 step, quitting after you
have reached top of the pyramid will accomplish nothing, real test of character is on the
way back down so suck it up. Estimated time of this workout, without warming-up, should
be fifty or less minutes.
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So to keep things simple here is the little preview of the general idea. After the warming
up approach the first step of the pyramid and perform without rest: 1chin-up, 1 split
squat with each leg, 1 push-up, 1 squat, 1 bench dip, 1 leg curl, 1 burpee and
plank hold for 10 seconds.
Only now you can take longer rest break from one minute to maximum 2 minutes. As you
progress in you training during the months try to maintain one minute rest break. After
the rest continue to step #2, and so on until you conquer the highest step, from there
reverse your back way down to the step #1.

3.10. The LADDERS
Unlike pyramid workouts where you climb to the top and then back the way down, in the
ladders workout you only climb to the point before failure. Remember; never climb
pyramid or ladders to the point of complete failure. As you have to climb only to the top
and not all the way back down, this might look easier than pyramid workout since you will
only have to do almost half of work, right? Wrong! As you climb your ladders to the top you
will have to repeat the whole process three times, in other words you will have to climb
three ladders of the exercise in hand.
The workout is divided in two separated blocks. Both blocks contain one upper body and
one lower body exercise. The idea is to simultaneously climb both ladders inside the
block. For example first block consists of chin-ups and squats; after 1 repetition of chin-
up you will execute 2 repetitions of squats, then you move back to 2 repetition of chin-
up followed by 4 repetitions of squats, and so on When you have climbed to the top,
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as mentioned, start again from the first step until you climb the first block three times;
then and only then you can move on to the next block containing push-ups and split
squats. Estimated time of this workout, without warming-up, should be fifty or less
minutes.

After a warm-up begin the first block with 1 repetition of chin-up, small rest, then 2
repetitions of squats, small rest, 2 repetitions of chin-ups, rest, 4 repetitions of squats,
rest, 3 repetitions of chin-ups, rest, 6 repetitions of squats, rest, 4 repetitions of chin-
ups, rest, 8 repetitions of squats. Repeat this cycle for two more times and then
continue to second block.
Second block begins with 2 repetitions of push-ups, small rest, then 2 repetitions of
split squats, rest, 4 repetitions of push-ups, rest, 4 repetitions of split squats, rest, 6
repetitions of push-ups, rest, 6 repetitions of split squats, rest, 8 repetitions of push-
ups, rest, 8 repetitions of split squats. Repeat this cycle for two more times and that
concludes this workout.

3.11. FIVE FIVE minutes
Very simple yet extremely effective 55 minutes workout will push you to the very edge of
your physical and cardiovascular maximum. Only one rule of the game, survive five
rounds of five minutes with one minute rest between. For this workout you can use stop-
watch or clock, but that demands constantly checking the time, so instead of that you can
use online workout timers. Estimated time of this workout, without warming-up, should be
forty-five minutes or less.
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Each round consists of four different exercises, for instance round #1. What you see is a
mini circle of four different exercises. You start with 1 repetition of chin-up, followed by
2 repetitions of push-ups, 2 repetitions of squats, and 2 repetitions of bench-dips.
With that you have completed this mini circle and for the argument sake lets assume it
took you one minute to finish it. Your goal is to complete as much circles as you can in
period of five minutes, now you can see the catch of the workout for yourself. If it took you
one minute to complete one circle, in five minutes you should strive to complete five
circles. Only then comes the rest break in form of one minute to maximum two minutes.
After the rest break continue to slightly different round #2. At the end when the all five
rounds are completed, take a short rest and work your way through mini core workout.

3.12. DENSITY
Density workouts became quite popular in recent years, especially in CrossFit circles.
However if you have spend any time researching older methods of training you would
have discovered that these workouts were invented long time ago and didnt go by the
now days name of density. Regardless of when and who invented them, density workout
is extremely hard but beneficial type of workout.
If you observe two strongmen in competition, they are both very capable of lifting
inhuman weights but how to answer who is more powerful or fit? They can both lift five
atlas stones weighted between 220-352 lbs (100-160 kg), but stronger more powerful, or
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fit, competitor is the one who can do it in less time. Power is by definition completed
amount of work in given time, more work you accomplish in less time more powerful you
are.
Density workout is all about just that. Simply put, for you the goal is to perform as much
repetitions of the exercise in hand in given time. One thing needs to be clarified right
away so there wont be any misunderstanding. In given time performing as much
repetitions as you can doesnt mean performing consecutive repetitions with no rest
until you burn-up. Density workout isnt failure workout! Failure workout is reserved for
The Fit Test workout later on. So in short; goal is in given time performing as much as you
can repetitions without bringing yourself to the point of absolute failure. And yes your
thoughts are correct, density workout will test not only your physical but cardiovascular
endurance as well.
First ten minutes are reserved for burpees, second ten minutes for chin-ups and squats,
and last five minutes for skipping rope. Time of this workout, without warming-up,is no
more and no less than twenty-five minutes.
List of possibilities for density workout are literally endless, one could write whole book
devoted only to that subject. These three particular exercises with rope jumping as bonus
are chosen because they cover the whole body and at the same time follow the main idea
of this book; exercises which can be done anywhere anytime and with no needed
equipment. Skipping rope can be easily replaced with jumping jacks or running in place
with your knees high up.

After a good warm-up, set the timer on and begin the workout with ten consecutive
minutes of burpees. Simply do as much as you can repetitions in ten minutes, dont start
all mighty and hard only to burn-up after three minutes, get in to a nice rhythm and
maintain it whole ten minutes. With ten minutes gone, with no rest between, continue to
next ten minutes by of row-ups. With twenty minutes underhand with no rest between
finish this workout with five minutes of skipping rope.

Things to remember: Set your goal on every ten minutes, for instance first ten
minutes you can set your goal on one hundred burpees. Let say first time you make
only to sixty burpees; thats ok next time youll maybe make it to seventy or more. But
dont set the timer on and just hang along to survive ten minutes, this workout it
doesnt work that way. You need to attack it, destroy it, so set the one number in your
mind and do whatever it takes achieve it.
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3.13. I CAN DO THIS ALL DAY
Well you wont have to do this all day; the name is just a motto you can repeat to yourself
during this less dynamic workout. This workout will not be easy, but it is certainly less
intense than all the previous workouts described in this book, and there is a good reason
for that. This will be the last workout before nice and relaxing, well deserved recovery
week. Naturally before you hit your recovery week, your Monday is scheduled for The Fit
Test where you will push yourself to your breaking point on purpose. Now there is really
no need for the last workout before The Fit Test to be rigorous and unforgiving, after all
you want to have some juice left in you when Monday comes, so last Friday of your four
week cycles will be less fun but also less intense.
The plan is; twenty continues circles with no real rest between exercises or circles. Yes,
you have read it correct, no rest whatsoever. Only rest you get is moving from one
exercise to other. Do this slowly and you can buy yourself few seconds of rest here or
there. But dont do it too slowly because you have probably heard the motto Grandma
was slow, but she was old. Unless you are a Grandma maintain some steady pace
between the exercises. As for the exercises there will only be three of them: pull-ups,
lunges and push-ups. Core will not be neglected, so after the twenty enjoyable circles
take some rest and continue to complete core workout. Estimated time of this workout,
without warming-up, should be around forty minutes or less.

After the proper warming-up, begin the workout with 1 repetition of chin-up, continue to
2 repetitions of split squats (2 for each leg), drop down and perform 2 repetitions of
push-ups. With this you have completed the first circle, only nineteen more to go. Mount
the bar and continue with 1 repetition of chin-up and so on Remember you can do this
all day and dont take big rest breaks between the circles or the exercises.

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3.14. The FIT TEST
There is really no need to sugarcoat it; the Fit Test is just what the name already suggests
it is. The first workout of this program will be the Fit Test, after that you will have gap of
four weeks before new fit test. It can be roughly estimated that you will perform the Fit
Test once a month. Even though most of the workouts in this program are fit tests alone
since you are trying to beat you own time almost every time, by taking the Fit Test you will
monitor your progress on maximum chin-ups, squats, push-ups and plank hold.

Rules of the FIT TEST:
1. CHIN-UPS: Once you mount the bar you are required to perform as much as possible
consecutive chin-ups. You can take breaks by simply hanging from the bar but there
must be no contact between your feet and the ground during these breaks. Once you
dismount the bar chin-up test is over. (Dont forget to write down the obtain number of
repetitions)
2. SQUATS: To avoid any cheating by doing squats very slow and taking long breaks in
stand-up position (one could squat all-day long in this manner), squat test has a time
window of 2 minutes. You are required to perform as much repetitions as possible of
squats in 2 minutes.
3. PUSH-UPS: Once you take push-up starting position you are required to perform as
much as possible consecutive push-ups without any longer breaks via lying on the
ground or resting on your knees. The speed of executing them is however totally up to
you since there is no time limit much like in chin-up test.
4. PLANK HOLD: Simply, once you take plank position try to maintain it as longer as
possible. Dont cheat and maintain the proper form all the way. This presents more
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mental test than physical one as you will be required to block all messages from your
mind while every seconds lasts like minute, and minutes like hour.
5. REST TIME: Between exercises take lengthy breaks from four to eight minutes. Since
you are doing all exercise to the point of failure there is no need to rush between
exercises. However dont take too big breaks, your muscles must be kept warm and
ready for next test, and too big breaks will cool you off. Smart thing would be during
rest time to put some clothes on; this will keep you warm until next challenge. Dont
sit down, walk around sip some water, stretch sore muscles and prepare both body
and mind for the next event.
Before taking your first test, it would be very wise and beneficial if you perform some light
pull-up, push-up and squat pyramid to warm up muscles and prepare your body for
intense events which will follow. Doing maximum repetitions on cold un-stretched
muscles will most likely result in injury, so do your warm-up and dont even for a second
think that a warm-up will by some way affect your maximum number during test in some
negative way. Diminish these thoughts immediately.

3.15. The RECOVERY WEEK
To make two steps forward we must first take one step back. This popular catchphrase
could be the simplest definition for describing the recovery week. So what is recovery or
de-loading week and why is it so important?
To understand this we must firstly address few workout myths that exist out there:
1. Strength is developed only during the workout WRONG!
2. Every workout you undergo must be harder than previous workout; otherwise you
will not progress WRONG!
3. If you take three or more days of rest you will take a huge step down from your
current and hard deserved fitness level WRONG!
Physical strength and muscle growth, in despite of popular belief among couch fitness
gurus, is developed after the workout during the muscles recovery phase. During the
workout, or some other demanding physical activity for instance shoveling snow, we tear
down the fibers of the muscles in use. Immediately with the end of the strenuous activity,
body begins rebuilding the broken fibers. Naturally not all the muscles in our body are the
same some require shorter some longer periods of recovery. The general advice is to take
48 hours break before exercising the same muscle group, for example if you have done
two hundred squats today it would not be wise to do the same thing tomorrow. Now, that
doesnt mean you should sit all day and allow your legs full 48 hours break before new
workout. Going up and down the stairs or even simple walking could be very well painful,
but it is very beneficial because during the light activation of the hurt muscles we
increase the blood flow through the muscle and thus accelerate its recovery.
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So now you know how strength is developed and why is a day of active rest important.
The legend says that Milo of Croton started lifting and carrying newborn calf in his
childhood day after day all the way through his maturity. Eventually that small calf
became a full grown bull that Milo could still lift and carry. Basic principle of overloading
states that if you want to improve your current strength youll need to increase the
resistance. For instance if you are doing bodyweight pull-ups that means more
consecutive repetitions, if you are doing weight training that means of course more iron,
for Milo it meant heavier calf since it grow bigger every day. This rule is true and
acceptable, but it is absolutely unacceptable to apply it workout after workout. If you have
done 30 pull-ups repetitions today, in next workout you will do 35, next 40 and so on.
Strength improvement doesnt follow that simple straight curve; and rising up the bar
workout after workout will only improve your way to an inventible breakdown of the body.
Every progress takes time, one day between workouts isnt a long time for progress to
occur, one to three weeks is much better.
So now you know why every workout doesnt have to be the hardest workout.
You have been working out very hard and patient for the last three weeks, and now it is
time to finally raise the bar, to make the workouts more intense in every way. But
somehow you wake up more tired every day; one day of rest between workouts doesnt
cut it anymore, thoughts are slow and heavy, body aches. You barely manage to endure
regular workout, how is it even possible to think about rising intensity? Strength
improvement follows more of a wave pattern than a straight curve.

Image surfer on a surfboard paddling toward a medium size wave; he begins at the
bottom, paddles to the top and descends down before attacking a following larger wave
and so on. The top of the wave is your current strength or fitness level; to conquer the
peak of the next fitness level first you must take a step back and descent the conquered
peak before climbing the next. Like a surfer on a board, you cant jump from peak to
peak. The descent from that peak is exactly recovery week. At this time one thing has to
be pointed up, to undergo the recovery week you will have to first climb to the top of that
peak, meaning you must have at least three or four weeks of hard intense training behind
you. Knowing when and where is key to everything in life, exercising is no exception.
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During the recovery week you offer your body, and your central nervous system, a chance
to recover from very intensive and mentally demanding three or four weeks rigorous
workouts. Even though you might feel that your muscles dont need six day rest, there are
significantly more important parts of body like joints, ligaments and tendons that needs
special care and proper maintenance. They should not be neglected. If you decide to take
six days of total rest, perhaps to fully heal some minor injury or because of some other
reason, if you have worked hard enough in the weeks before your fitness level will not
experience any negative effects of prolonged rest. More than six days are really pushing
it, so keep it under a week if you really need to fully rest.
The endless question which immediately pops up is what you can and cant do during
recovery week?
The general idea of the recovery week isnt six days of sitting in front of TV doing nothing
and giving your body a total rest. That would be called a week of absolutely nothing.
Instead of a week of total rest, recovery week should be viewed as a week of active rest
during which you can be involved in some less demanding physical activities. That way
you will not lose your healthy habit of working out and you wont get lazy.

Due to the bad weather or lack of imagination, performing light workouts indoors is an
acceptable alternative to other recommended activities for recovery week. Since most of
the workouts of this program were very intense with considerable high volume of exercise
repetitions, during the light workouts you will do just the opposite; low intense
moderate repetitions volume workouts, hence the name de-loading week.

Things to remember: Recovery week is an active rest week composed of light and low
demanding activities or workouts during which body recovers and prepares for next
workout cycles. To deserve the luxury of the recovery week there should be at least
three consecutive weeks of intense training. To recover youll have to first get tired.
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With the end of the active recovery week you should feel fresh, mentally rested and eager
more than ever to get back on your highway to be physically fit. You will also discover
larger strength reserves during workouts. Now would be a good time to raise the bar and
conduct slightly more challenging workouts by adding up few repetitions here and there.
In the appendix you will find printable examples of every workout for the beginners,
intermediate and advanced trainees. Those are only general examples, which you can of
course alter to match your current body capabilities.

WORKOUTS SUMMARY
Workouts, exercises and number of repetitions are not written in stone. One shoe doesnt
fit all should be applied here. Some beginner individuals may find beginners workouts to
be too easy, other may find it too challenging. Presented workouts in the Appendix for
beginners, intermediate and advanced are totally up to you for modifications. Feel
absolutely free to try different approaches on some workouts, test it, re-write it, re-test it.
Maybe you find even the advanced workouts to be easy like a Sunday stroll in a park. No
problem, add a few repetitions of pull-ups and dive bombers up and then give it a go.
Exercises and number of repetitions are only tools we use to work on ourselves. However
dont use only one tool (exercise) to build yourself. Be smart. Hammer is an excellent tool
but alone it is useless if you need to change flat tire on your car. Same can be applied to
every described exercise in this book.
Maybe in time you come across some new bodyweight exercise for lower back which is far
better than the ones described here. It is your duty to try that exercise and if it feels right,
incorporate it in to the workouts, back bridges by by hello new lower back exercise.
To be physically fit is not competition. There are no first places or second places, no
winners or looser. After a warm-up there is only you and your workout and the reward of
ultimate satisfaction following the post-workout shower. Do your part and collect that
reward!
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4. WORKOUT SCHEDULE
The workouts of this program are supposed to be performed three times a week. At the
first glance this doesnt sound like much, but you will change your mind after week one.
Simultaneously this leaves you spare days for other hobbies or physical activities which
you enjoy doing like taking a long walk with your furry little friend, or taking a relaxing
swim in local swimming pool or perhaps beating the crap out of heavy bag in your garage.
Some days you will be so tired of everyday life that workout will be the last thing on your
mind. Spending evening with your loved one sound better and better each minute; luckily
you follow the workout schedule which allows you to do so.
Working out every day is great and should be supported; if you can find time, motive,
energy and understanding from your loved ones. But dont make it absolute imperative
that you have to exercise every day or otherwise the universe will collapse. Sooner or later
it will become commitment that you detest rather than enjoy. Keep it simple and give
yourself some slack from time to time.
With all the workouts presented and described it is time to form workout schedule in
order to bring some method in our madness. Twelve workouts presents one cycle which
takes four weeks. Monday of the fifth week is reserved for the Fit Test, after that follows
well deserved recovery week. As always, general rule is that a picture is worth thousands
words will be applied here, so here is the preview of the things in mind:

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Very often people decide to make big changes in their lives starting this or next Monday, it
is somehow more psychologically acceptable to do so with the beginning of the working
week. This program also follows this modern trend with only one little minor difference,
for those of you who considerate yourselves Intermediate or Advanced fit type of
individuals, The Fit Test comes on Friday so you can heal your wounds through weekend
before Monday the day when the big changes begin.

True Beginners should avoid this because it will take much longer than weekend for all
the muscles to heal from sudden overstress. For them The Fit Test comes after the period
of four weeks which will prepare body for this stressful event. Beginners dont let the
curiosity get better of you, inflamed muscle pain is not considered as fun time.

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5. FEW WORDS ABOUT NUTRITION

In the journey to be physically fit all the exercises and all the workouts still represent only
one half of the equation. Other half is you nutrition habits. This could be illustrated
through simple but vivid example.
Lets say you inherit classic 1968 Ford Mustang from your beloved Grandpa. Body of a
car is little rusty and busted, it clearly needs new paint job, engine runs but that too
needs some professional attention. Over the months through a lot of patience, hard work
and sacrifice your old-timer is renovated, engine runs smooth and the paint job is
absolutely astonishing. You take it for a joy ride around town. After a while comes time for
a visit to gas station. So here you are, a decision has to be made. Remember you have
invested a lot of time and money to bring your classic from the dead, so what fuel will you
use? Have you really gone through all that trouble only to now use cheap dirty fuel which
will send your engine back to grave in no time, or you will have second thought about it
and think long term.
That car is you your body. If you have invested a lot of time and energy into rebuilding
yourself are you really going to continue with your old self-destructing habits of using
cheap fuel?
There are many articles, chapters and even whole books devoted to the subject of
nutrition, written by both professional nutritionist and nutrition scientist. You should do
your part and explore them, gather as much information as you can from as many
possible sources. Many if not all will provide you with similar informations what to eat
and when to eat. Here are going to be outlined only basic guidelines about nutrition until
you arm yourself with hard solid nutrition knowledge.

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DOES THIS SCENARIO SOUND FAMILIAR?
07 am [Wake-up]: I cant eat anything, food makes me ill and Ill have some coffee
instead
13 pm [Lunch break at job]: Im really stressed about current situation with our business
partner, I have lost all of my appetite, Ill have some coffee and donut instead
17 pm [At home]: Finally home, Im so hungry I could eat hoarse (and you literally eat
almost everything you find in your path)
21 pm [In front of TV]: Im still full from my last meal, but hey little potato chips wont do
much harm
Lets use allegory one more time to clear things ups. Image your stomach as a big
fireplace and your body is room surrounding that fireplace. Room is very cold, but still you
wait all day and then suddenly at 17 pm fill that fireplace with every wood available, you
struck the match and let it burn. Sure now the room is less cold. It is even getting too hot,
quickly open the windows. Now too much wood has been wasted for nothing, but the next
day is again same old story. What if you fuel that fireplace step by step with small amount
of wood constantly through all day? Room ought to be warm all day long and no extra
wood would be wasted.
Similar is with food. You starve yourself all day, and then consume too much in short
amount of time. Body naturally stores that extra no-needed wasted food in form of body
fat and prepares for the next day of starvation. However, if you fuel your body with small
meals but constantly through all day, it will simply burn that small amounts of food and
nothing will go to storage facilities also known as body fat.
Objective is constant intake of food through all day!
RULES NOT TO BE BROKEN:
Breakfast is a must! Find something you really like, if its possible more fruit and
less sugar for the first meal of the day after a long night of starvation. Milk, yogurt,
eggs and fresh juice are all early food for the champions.
You havent seen Rocky destroying fat donuts at 05 am in the morning now have you?
Lunch no need saying this but small sandwich and coffee cant be called lunch.
Make a new friendship with Tupperware. Bring your own food with you, maybe
leftovers from yesterday or even some simple quick meal like egg omelet and yogurt.
You really dont need to be rocket scientist to successfully prepare few simple meals,
learn how to cook.
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Dinner best things always come for the last. Make this meal something that you
really look forward too; after all you had a long hard day behind you with or without
that additional killer workout.
Water through all day you simply must consume water. Tea is also acceptable; any
flavor will do but keep it constant through all day and try to use sugar as little as
possible. Keep away from sodas or similar drinks; they will only make you thirstier and
fat.
Remember when you are feeling thirsty you are actually already slightly dehydrated so
make a new habit of sipping water every once in a while. Beware if you are dedicated
coffee consumer, you must drink at least one glass of water with your coffee because
caffeine much like alcohol can cause dehydration.
If you are overweight dont be blindsided by some miraculous diet; can your car run with
no fuel in gas tank? Your body needs food, no matter how much you are overweight. The
key factor is when and how much to eat.
In general there are two types of people; one who enjoy in food who literally live to eat
and there are the other ones who simply eat just to get by another day. The first group will
have less trouble reviewing and changing their nutrition habits, as for the second group
they will have to put some effort into it.
In summary, dont count every calorie you take. Allow yourself with occasional visit to the
unhealthy after all we are all humans. Enjoy in the food, dont strict yourself with no
more chocolate ever or similar limitations. Instead try to find balance, or healthier
alternative for instance try dark chocolate with 70% or more cacao instead of regular
sugar bomb chocolate. Make your own fresh juice instead of soda drinks. Forget about
potato chips in front of TV. If you really need something between your teeth try nuts or
sunflower seeds, you wouldnt believe how beneficial they are. Sugar bye bye; from now
on use honey to sweeten your tea. Conduct your own experiments. Be example to your
family and friends. Soon will come the day when youll ask yourself how in earth you
managed to survive all those self-destructing years before the big change.
Things to remember: Eat regularly through all day; three or four small meals are by
far better than one extra large. Drink plenty of water, especially during and after the
workout.
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6. FEW LAST WORDS
During the one or maybe all presented workouts, you may start asking yourself some
serious questions about your new life style. You may even ask yourself why do you do
what you do? Answer to this simple but constant question during one or all workouts lies
within you. It would be a wise thing to write that cause, that goal that you are determent
to achieve, print it on a large paper and hang it in your workout surroundings.
Subconsciously we all know what we would like to achieve in life, we all know our inner
motives, but at the moment of extreme stress when our conscious kicks in, you may find
yourself stranded with no reasonably good reply.
Much like physically fit body, fortitude and strong spirit can be also developed over time
through countless rigorous workouts. But you wont achieve it by quitting at the first sign
of feeling uncomfortable. Tennis matches can easily last to five or more hours when you
have two similarly good in top shape competitors. The winner is usually the one who
wants it more, the one who digs even deeper when there is nothing more left, the one
who doesnt bother himself with question am I feeling comfortable at this moment.
When the moment of low spirit and self doubt hits you, remind yourself with your goal of
how much you want it. Nothing lasts forever nor do any of these workouts. Push to the
end even if you have to take larger time brakes or simpler exercise variations. Nothing
valuable has ever been achieved by quitting.
Presented exercises and workouts should be viewed only as a means to an end. As long
as you have your end in sight (to be physically fit) chosen exercises are only tools which
you use. Every workout can be easily modified with less or more different exercises.
Resist the urge to succumb to only few same body movements or exercises what you can
witness in your average public gym where inexperience users for some reason think that
they can develop all around fit body by only benching workout after workout. The same
wont be achieved if you do countless number pushups on your bedroom floor. When you
decide to conquer nearby mountain chest strength wont be much of help.
All-around fitness is achieved by performing all-around body movements weather you
personally like them or not. Dont get the wrong message here and think there is
something wrong with push-ups or benching. There isnt as long as you understand that
they represent only one of many more possible ways to exercise only your upper body
front.
You will gain much progress with presented workouts, but also youll have to keep in mind
that the time is an enemy and in time your body will in many ways adapt to this workout
program. It doesnt necessarily mean that these workouts will become easy enough like
taking a walk through a park; they will still kick your butt and leave you out breathless.
You will achieve certain plateau of your own physical fitness which is by far higher than
average gym Joe, but in order to climb to yet another higher level you will have to use
more advance tools in a form of advance bodyweight exercises or perhaps weighted
exercises. There are many excellent bodyweight or weighted workout routines out there
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but the main thing to remember is there is no such thing as perfect workout. If you limit
yourself to only one workout or entire workout program, no matter how good it is, once
you achieve your maximum you will remain stuck there.
Now that raises another question, when is it enough? Again it depends on your inner
goals; if you are truthfully happy with achieved fitness level your secondary goal should be
to maintain that level. However, if something new caught your attention move on and
explore it. You can always return back to your beloved workout routine, but remember:
DO NOT EVER LET YOUR SUCCESS BE THE VICTIM OF YOUR OWN LIMITATIONS!
BEST OF LUCK!
Author

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REFERENCES / RECOMMENDED LITERATURE
[1] Zatsiorsky, V.M.; Kraemer, W.J.: Science and Practice of Strength Training, 2
nd

Edition, 2006.
[2] Ross Enamait: Infinite Intensity, 2005.
[3] Frdric Delavier: Strength Training Anatomy, 2001.
[4] Kenney, W.L.; Wilmore, J.H.; Costill, D.L.: Physiology of Sport and Exercise, 5
th

Edition, 2011.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED LITERATURE
[5] Ross Enamait: Never Gymless, 2006.
Excellent material for anyone interested in advanced bodyweight training.
[6] Jim Wendler: 5/3/1: The Simplest and Most Effective Training System for Raw
Strength, 2009.
The contest of this book really lives up to the title, great material for anybody
interested in Powerlifting or only in developing some raw body strength.
[7] Rippetoe M.; Kilgore L.: Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, 2
nd
Edition, 2007.
This is highly recommended for anyone involved in barbell training. The author
devotes a lot of ground in explaining and demonstrating the right technique for all
Olympic and Powerlifting lifts.
[8] Bob Anderson; Jean Anderson: Stretching, 1980.
Simple book with illustrated stretching session for every occasion. Great stuff.

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APPENDIX
In the appendix you will find printable version of the all workouts for beginners,
intermediate and advanced trainees. Plus for every workout there is cheat sheet for
beginners with pictures of required exercises. We dont want you to scroll up & down this
book during the workout in search of what is Superman exercise, or Dive Bombers.
This will save you time. Intermediate and advanced individuals should by now know every
exercise by their name. Start printing and exercising.
6.1. WORKOUT SCHEDULE

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6.2. BODYWEIGHT PYRAMID

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6.3. NINE CIRCLES OF HELL

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6.4. DECK OF CARDS

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6.5. 4 10 min.

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6.6. BEEN THERE DONE THAT

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6.7. The CHAIN

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6.8. TABATA BODYWEIGHT INTERVAL

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6.9. CONDITION PYRAMID

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6.10. The LADDERS

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6.11. FIVEFIVE minutes

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6.12. DENSITY

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6.13. I CAN DO THIS ALL DAY

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6.14. The FIT TEST

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